Translink Welcomes School Bus Safety Funding Boost
5 September 2006
Translink today welcomed confirmation of an additional £37 Million investment in school bus provision.
The additional funding will enable Translink to commission 110 new single deck buses, ending the practice of three children sharing a two-person seat and ending the need for any standing by 2009. All these buses will be fitted with seatbelts and be fully accessible.
The new buses, which will be phased in over a two-year period, will support Translink’s existing integrated school bus model.
The model is already renowned throughout the UK for its effectiveness and efficiency in maintaining a high level of provision of school services within an integrated network of other socially necessary and rural services.
This initiative will enable Translink to lead the UK in the implementation of new schools bus legislation across a regional scheduled bus network.
Translink’s Chief Executive Keith Moffatt said; “Translink has always placed passenger safety at the top of its agenda and we have enjoyed an excellent safety record in school transport carrying over 63,000 schoolchildren every day, representing two-thirds of the total school population which travels by bus in Northern Ireland.
“While it is accepted that bus travel is 10 times safer than travel by car, we have never been complacent about safety and are delighted that that this funding will at last enable us to end any use of the ‘3 for 2 rule’. By 2009 it will also ensure that on all designated school services no child will have to stand – which will make the journey both more comfortable and safer.
“Importantly the funding is another positive development for public transport in Northern Ireland. It will help us to maintain and improve our networks of rural and socially necessary bus services, by integrating the new buses into our schedules when not in use on school services at the beginning and end of each day.”
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