*Bus Éireann.
A CLARE TD has said the wrong part of the county has been chosen for inclusion in a pilot school bus transport scheme while the manner of communication from Bus Éireann has been slammed as “very poor”.
Secondary school students travelling by bus to Shannon will have to use the public bus network as opposed to a dedicated school transport system prompting concern and frustration among parents while politicians have said they were blindsided by the development and it also caught school principals by surprise.
In place for the last fifty years, a review of the school transport scheme has resulted in an overhaul of the entire policy with the introduction of two pilot areas, Athlone Town (Roscommon) and parts of Co Clare served by the 343 bus corridor which includes Cratloe, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Shannon. The move is from a school bus pass to a leap card and the removal of a dedicated school bus to students having to use the 343 public bus.
Last Tuesday, parents of secondary school students who were expecting to travel via school transport received communication from Bus Éireann with scant detail on a pilot school transport scheme, they were advised that some students would be getting a leap card and would be able to travel on the public bus network to travel to school.
Parents in April paid for school bus passes but have said what is planned is not what they were signing up for. Parents will be entitled to a refund if they return the Leap card to Bus Éireann.
Concerns were then raised with political figures and a meeting was organised on Saturday morning for Treacy’s Oakwood Hotel by Cathal Crowe TD (FF) and Cllr David Griffin (FF). They were expecting to meet five parents but fifty one people turned up. This led to the organisation of a subsequent meeting in Cratloe on Sunday which was attended by 48 people and at this meeting St Caimin’s Community School principal Maria Sheehan outlined that they were unaware of the changes until they were contacted by parents.
Among the items raised by parents are the prospect of their children travelling on a public bus with strangers, the “chaotic” traffic that could ensue with 250 students getting collected outside McGregor’s in Sixmilebridge where no bus shelter exists, the collection of students in Cratloe along the hard shoulder of a dual carriageway plus the potential impact for residents of Cronan in Shannon which is a dedicated collection point in the evening time for up to 400 students.
On Tuesday, Deputy Crowe, Senator Timmy Dooley (FF), Senator Roisin Garvey (GP), Senator Martin Conway (FG), Cllr Griffin and Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF) met with four officials from Bus Éireann and two from the Department of Education to discuss the proposed pilot scheme.
Officials from Bus Éireann outlined that this area of Clare was chosen because of plans to enhance the 343 service to a 24/7 service, the enhanced schedule is to commence on August 16th. They confirmed that staggered pick-up points will be in place at McGregor’s in Sixmilebridge to avoid large numbers congregating. Students in Sixmilebridge will be able to get the bus from Minister’s Cross and McGregor’s to Ennis.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) have previously flagged Setright’s Tavern in Cratloe is not a safe collection point. An approximate 28 students are to be collected here. Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority are looking at amending the suggested stop at Setright’s on the Dual Carriageway. A new location will be agreed and communicated directly to parents in due course.
Students in Newmarket-on-Fergus will have options to be collected at Ballinoosky, Halpin’s Garage, Minister’s Cross, Scoil na Maighdine Mhuire NS or Boheroan.
At the meeting it was also outlined that Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority are trying to organise a stop closer to St Caimin’s School and they hope to agree this with the National Transport Authority and communicate directly with parents in due course. This arrangement would be for students travelling from Sixmilebridge to Shannon. It is yet to be agreed if an alternative drop-off point will be agreed for students from Newmarket-on-Fergus. Cronan Gardens is approximately 550 metres from St Caimin’s School and elected representatives reiterated that this is a far distance for students to walk unsupervised and potentially in poor weather conditions.
On the matter of twelve year old students in first year of secondary school travelling on a public bus unaccompanied by a supervising adult, Bus Éireann pointed out that school children of this age in Dublin already travel unaccompanied on public bus services. The enhanced 343 bus service will be a public bus service. There will be no supervision provided at bus collection areas.
Services will remain as normal for students in Cratloe and Meelick attending Limerick secondary schools.
Bus Éireann officials stressed that there isn’t a plan b but that the pilot will be closely monitored and tweaked as necessary. Students will not be guaranteed a seat on the bus but time slots are hoped to manage capacity. The morning journey will involve a specific collection time but students can get on any returning service.
A timetable is anticipated to be released to parents on Friday (August 16th).
Bus Éireann and the Department of Education are to arrange to meet with the principals of both secondary schools in Shannon and a date and time will soon be agreed to which parents from the various affected communities can meet with Bus Eireann.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Deputy Crowe commented, “It is my honest belief that the Department of Education have chosen the wrong part of the county in which to trial the new school transport scheme. I think this would have worked far better if they chose a one-school town such as Scariff, Tulla or Killaloe.
“The 343 corridor is extremely complex because of the thousands of people that work in Shannon, the many people that use the bus services on the corridor to go to and from Shannon Airport, on top of that there are 22 schools from Ennis to Limerick that could potentially be served by buses on the route. I think it would have been far simpler and more effective to have trialled this on a less complex route. I think parents can rightly feel aggrieve with the lack of communication to date, indeed we as public representatives only fully became aware of the ramifications of this last Wednesday, I’m glad that the Department of Education and Bus Éireann will now meet directly with the principals of both schools in Shannon to further troubleshoot and I have arranged for a deputation of parents to meet with Bus Éireann this week to further outline some of the problems that they envisage”.
On Wednesday morning, Cllr Griffin wrote to Anne Graham, the CEO of the NTA with suggested route amendments, such as maintaining a stop at Kilulla Cross, that could make the scheme more accessible for some families. “I would call on Bus Eireann and the NTA to be flexible with how they implement this to ensure that where possible we are minimising disruption to local families. The way this has been handled and communicated by Bus Eireann and the Dept of Education has been very poor, and at this late stage in the summer it leaves many families with no other option. They must be flexible and open to suggestion and amendments that will limit its impact”.
