Monday 13 February 2012
On 18th November 2011 the Environment Department issued a media release confirming that it was deferring implementation of a proposed one mile pick-up and drop off restriction on all school bus services on 5th December in order to further assess whether there was any possibility of introducing more formal and controlled loading procedures for school buses.
The reason for the proposed change had come about following complaints from parents and certain schools that students living a fair distance from the school had been unable to catch the school bus home due to the fact that students living much closer to the school were using the bus.
Having reviewed this matter in consultation with the Education Department and the schools, looked at existing passenger counts and listened to comments and observations from some of the parents, the Department has now decided to limit the introduction of the aforementioned restrictions to Secondary schools only. In considering this matter it has been noted that many of the primary school buses either do not presently operate at full capacity or, if they do, loadings are already controlled by the school. Furthermore, it has been acknowledged that it is far less practical to expect a child as young as four or five to walk or cycle to school as compared with a child of secondary school age.
Consequently, it has been decided that with effect from Monday 20th February 2012 the following policy will be introduced for all school bus services to and from Les Beaucamps High School, St. Sampson's High School, La Mare de Carteret High School and the Grammar School:
Inbound Morning Routes:
Distances of approximately one mile from each of the secondary schools have been designated as the last
official "pick-up" point that drivers can collect pupils from.
Any pupil requesting to board the bus past this point i.e. within one mile of the school will only be picked up if
there is room on the bus.
There is therefore no guarantee of a seat for those that live close to the schools.
Outbound Afternoon Routes:
Distances of approximately one mile from each school have been designated as the first point that drivers
will be permitted to allow pupils to alight the vehicle.
In considering this matter it should be noted that school bus passengers can vary enormously from day to day depending on a variety of factors, including the weather, the time of year and any other after school commitments that the students might have. Unfortunately, the Department has only limited resources and is unable to provide over capacity on all school routes to cover for any eventuality. Instead sufficient capacity is provided to cater for expected demand.
In addition to the above, there is also an agreement in place with the Scheduled Bus Services operator to enable school children to make use of scheduled bus services at no charge during school times provided that they are in school uniform.
The Department is pleased to confirm that all Primary School bus services serving catchment area schools will continue to operate as normal. Letters to this effect have been issued to all schools for dissemination to parents and pupils.
The Department will continue to monitor passenger numbers on its school bus services and will, if necessary, review this decision at a later date.
Contact Information:
Karl Guille, Traffic and Transport Services Manager
Environment Department
Tel: 243400
