School buses are safer. In 2007, 10 pupils were killed or seriously injured on their 1.6mil bus journeys to school. Compare this to walking were there were 442 KSIs over 3.7 mil journeys, or cycling with 54 over 0.2mil journeys.
Operators, manufacturers and other interested parties e.g. LEAs have till 22 August to reply to the DfT consultation on EC whole vehicle type approval. One of the main points of deliberation is on school buses.
Whereas the UK's draft version of the EC regulations specifies a slightly greater minimum seat pitch and slightly larger seat width than currently, there is a potential exemption for school buses. To overcome this issue for school buses, the DfT is minded to introduce a national specification for school buses that reduces the pitch. This would allow an extra row of seats for a given length, cutting the cost per seat and benefiting operators and LEAs alike.
The DfT also feels that seat widths on school buses could be reduced to accommodate ‘3 plus 2’ seating, as you now tend to find on an increasing number of higher capacity yellow single decks, new or refurbished.
But the DfT is also minded to prevent such vehicles being used for purposes other than for the carriage of pupils. This would reduce their usefulness to operators and effectively might increase rather than decrease costs. By potentially capping the number of 16+ year olds on vehicles to no more than 10, the DfT will ensure high capacity vehicles are restricted to school times only. Not that 70 adults would necessarily wish to hire such a vehicle for a theatre excursion or a trip to Bournemouth.
Should pupils accept a lesser standard than the rest of us? Are high capacity 3+2 vehicles easily evacuated at need, for example? On the other hand, school travel is only for about 20-30 minutes maximum each day in each direction. Does it therefore matter if the pitch and width are reduced? Should we instead be investing in more of such vehicles to take reduce the higher risks pedestrians and especially cyclists face?
Is the risk of poor behaviour day-in-day-out on double decks higher than in any likely emergency? It’s a question of balance and I know what head teachers would say: all pupils on the same level with no upper deck and more 70 seaters, thank you.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
3+2 Consultation
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5 comments:
I think that many parents are more concerned about the lack of seat belts on ordinary buses used as school buses. The 3+2 issue is difficult - schools like them, the actual children and drivers who have to use them generally abhor them. The statistics quoted probably deserve more exposure to prove to parents and teachers that, despite the age of many of the 'deckers currently used, they do have a superb safety record compared to other modes.
Even when there are seatbelts, the children don't use them.
I *hate* driving certain double decker school buses (to certain schools!). Give me a 3+2 single deck any day.
Dennis is sort of right. Pupils don't abhor 3+2 single deck so much as they really *love* double decks because they know they can play around upstairs, throw things out of the windows, spit, run around, damage seats and yes even with CCTV.
In my opinion primary pupils will wear seat belts and secondary ones will not.
My concern with the 3+2 70 seater coaches and buses is that operators will use them for other work. First regularly use 3+2 70 seater coaches on rail replacement work. Pity the poor driver who has to explain to his passengers that for the next two hours or so, they have to put up with a seat configeration designed for school children. Also we have a local operator who uses his 2+3 yellow school buses on local stage carriage at weekends and during school holidays. If the 3+2 is adopted as a school bus standard then there must be restrictions on the use of the vehicle. I appreciate that operators have costs to cover and margins are exceptionally tight at the moment but how can the industry continue to woe the car driver when practices such as these are acceptable?
I remember the time when Maidstone used to operate 3+2 on many of its ordinary bus services. Passengers used to treat the 3 as a double seat and the 2 as a single seat.
Just an observation.
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