£154mil Injection?

There’s nothing that wasn’t expected in Friday’s 18-strong recommendations by the Yellow School Bus Commission. And remember, although the YSBC sounds weighty, although a parliamentarian headed it, in reality it was sponsored by First.

Some apparent facts:

• 41 & 21 per cent of primary & secondary school travel to school by car. This has about doubled in 20 years.


• This accounts for 20 per cent of car journeys during peak periods.


• It equates to about one million tonnes of CO2 per annum.


• Parents of primary school children were unwilling to let their children make their own way to school, even over short distances, owing to perceived safety and security concerns.


• For children living between one and three miles from school, two-thirds at primary age and ¼ at secondary were driven to school.
  

Perhaps not surprisingly, then, the report calls for a major expansion of school buses, especially in the primary sector, along the lines of the American model. The word ‘American’ appears 11 times in the 62-page report.

This doesn't have to be a 1950s-designed tanks painted ‘school bus chrome’. Rather, any future rollout should demonstrate some of the features common to American model. Whatever the type and colour of vehicle, this might include dedicated drivers, a guaranteed seat, codes of practice, CCTV, pupils travelling on a single deck vehicle, and three-point belts. Much of this has found its way onto mainstream school transport over the last five years, anyway.

In rural areas, the report concedes that there should be integration with existing public transport. The report also reaffirms the current focus on promoting cycling and walking within one mile of a primary and two miles of a secondary school. Recently published trade journal research indicates that the emphasis on cycling may in fact be dubious, owing to the higher accident rate.

The report challenges government to do something safe for pupils and alternative for the environment. It would cost an additional £154mil net to roll additional school buses out for the primary sector. It would require school hour changes. All primary pupils would have a fare-paying bus so long as they lives more than a mile from their school.

Imagine the transformational benefits for the industry with that sort of sum. Yes, there’d be issues such as depot space and driver recruitment.

But also remember that the DfT’s own 2004 research into the First pilots painted a less rosy picture. Unlike the YSBC, it concluded that the case for mass expansion was more balanced.