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Many students are at risk of losing their school bus service due to the challenges private transportation companies face in meeting the new social distancing guidelines.
Confey College in Co Kildare is one of several high schools where private bus operators say they must withdraw due to the cost of providing additional buses to comply with public health councils limiting passenger numbers.
In a change to the public health council just over a week ago, it was recommended that school buses transporting second-tier students operate at 50% capacity.
James Mullally of JM Coaches, which operates the Lucan-Confey College route, said four double-decker buses were typically used to transport children to this school.
Up to 12 buses will now be needed to meet social distancing rules due to the layout of these buses, he said.
“It just isn’t feasible. This is a big problem. I know of five other schools in the greater Dublin area with private operators where there are similar problems, ”he said.
While JM Coaches announced that the service would be canceled last Thursday, he wrote to parents Sunday afternoon to tell them that the buses will now continue on a “temporary” basis, without social distancing.
Mullally said state funding was urgently needed if they were to gradually introduce social distancing in the coming months.
“We cannot continue indefinitely. We do not have the Bus Éireann resources to get additional buses. This is only a temporary measure so that 200 children can go to school. Support for private operators is urgently needed if we want to continue operating, ”she said.
Liz Wynne of the Confey College Parent Council said families were dependent on the bus service and there was no alternative if it shut down.
“Many parents are working and are not available to take their children to school. Many of us are angry, frustrated and worried about how they will get their children to school, ”she said.
On the other hand, Dublin Bus has confirmed that it has recently eliminated a number of school bus services that were contracted to private operators.
In a statement, Dublin Bus confirmed that it had eliminated these services after “careful deliberation” based on the low number of passengers on some of these services and the availability of existing public routes.
As an alternative, he said he has increased services on these public routes.
A spokesperson said that all affected schools had been contacted and that service levels on the bus network will be monitored over the next several months.
Additional services can be added when the demand so requires, subject to the approval of the National Transportation Authority.
Meanwhile, Bus Éireann, which operates the Department of Education’s school transportation scheme, said that only 20 percent of its bus services for secondary schools will operate at the recommended 50 percent capacity when schools reopen.
The company said it was reviewing how it will meet social distancing requirements on its 2,100 post-primary routes.
Sources say that it will likely take several months before all routes serving secondary schools can operate at 50% of their stipulated capacity.
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