*Bus Éireann.
BUS ÉIREANN have said the safety of children travelling to school on their services is of “paramount importance” while stressing that there will be “sufficient capacity” on the buses.
This comes in the wake of growing concern among parents in Cratloe, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Sixmilebridge who have children attending secondary school in Shannon and will be part of a pilot transport scheme operated by Bus Éireann.
A review of the School Transport Scheme which was completed by the Department of Education at the beginning of 2024 has outlined a goal of bringing an additional 100,000 pupils to school each day by 2030. The expansion of the scheme, operated by Bus Éireann, has the stated goal of greater integration with the public transport network.
Route 343 has been selected as a pilot for the academic year 2024/2025. This will see students in the pilot area issued with Leap Cards which will enable them to utilise the public transport services in their area. The 343 corridor (incorporating Limerick – Shannon – Ennis) will see a significant increase in services to coincide with the new school year. This is part of a Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan service enhancement.
Under the pilot scheme, the new eligibility criteria recommended in the school transport review are being applied, which will increase the number of pupils who will qualify for school transport scheme in the area. The distance that children must live from their school of attendance has been reduced from 4.8km to 2km. The ‘nearest school rule’ has been removed, which broadens the range of schools that children can attend using the school transport scheme.
In a statement to The Clare Echo, a spokesperson for Bus Éireann outlined, “As a result of the integration with public transport in this pilot project, eight buses which had been used on dedicated school transport services in the pilot area have now been freed up to work on other dedicated school transport services. This has created supported more school bus transport places capacity in County Clare for the 2024/2025 school year”.
As reported by The Clare Echo last week, four officials from Bus Éireann and two representatives from the Department of Education met with Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF), Senator Timmy Dooley (FF), Senator Roisin Garvey (GP), Senator Martin Conway (FG), Cllr David Griffin (FF) and Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) to discuss the proposed pilot scheme. “Bus Éireann and the Department of Education are committed to reviewing a number of issues raised including pick up and drop off points,” the spokesperson commented.
Sufficient capacity will be on the buses, the spokesperson advised. “The safety of children travelling to school on our services is of paramount importance for both Bus Éireann and the Department of Education and is central to all decisions for routes and operations across the country. The pilot scheme has been designed to ensure there will be sufficient capacity for all children on these transport services serving the schools in the area. The Bus Éireann local school transport office in Limerick are currently processing ticket allocations for the upcoming school year. Tickets are currently being issued and Bus Éireann will contact families in the near future to provide information on their transport arrangements for the 2024/2025 school year, including those who are part of the pilot scheme”.
