Pupils near schools lose their bus ride to end overcrowding
Friday 18th November 2011, 11:30AM GMT.
PUPILS who live within a mile of their school will no longer be guaranteed a seat on their school bus.
A letter sent to parents confirmed that Environment had changed its policy to ease overcrowding.
Inbound pupils may still be picked up within a mile of the school – if there is room.
But at the end of the day school bus drivers will not set down any passengers until the first official stopping point, approximately a mile from their school.
The changes take effect from 5 December.
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So, boot kids off the buses and they will walk or cycle to school won’t they.
Answer…probably not, they will be driven to school by hard pressed parents trying to get to woork..thats why the kids use the bus.
All this will achieve is more traffic around the schools in the morning and afternoon.
Another fine mess by environment
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DA – does that mean you’re happy to pay for the service then? I’m sure Environment would welcome any contribution. Personally I’d rather my taxes went to pay teachers’ wages when the kids get to school, rather than to provide buses for children too lazy to walk a mile AT MOST. AT least with what they’re trying to do the ones with a real need will get access to transport.
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Oh dear!…Walk???…..that means they may get some exercise.
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I would sooner my kids caught the bus so I know they will get to school safely, especially because of the morning rushhour traffic as it is these days. This is not about exercise!
Environment shame on you- you won’t drop a child off unless they live one mile away (what is the world coming too???)
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Ady – shame on you for thinking that kids will be unsafe walking to school – give ‘em a roadworker’s reflective & fluorescent jerkin (£3?) and they’ll be fine – drivers using routes near schools already cope with some kids walking, a few more won’t make a difference, and many will cycle or microscooter anyway. When was the last time you heard of a kid getting knocked down on their way to or from school over here?
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How long before they start charging for this second rate education system ?
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School buses are for secondary age kids right?
I do not think it is unreasonable to have those that live that close walk to school. That is a very short walk in length of time. An 11 year is well on their way to being responsible about walking a mile safely. They can walk in groups with a friend or two to improve visability and thoughfulness about traffic.
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Education is as good as the child is prepared to make of it and the parent support.
Even the so called poor schools are miles better then what many kids the world over have the priveledge to access.
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The more kids walking,cycling and scootering to school, the less traffic on the road, therefore it will be safer and less busy! This could be evidenced by all schools having a compulsory no car day. The furthest any child would have to ride in Guernsey is going to be less than 8 miles and that would be an Elizabeth College Student from Pleinmont.
It’s time Guernsey kids got of their pampered bums and learnt some independence rather than Timothy & Tabitha being ferried in yummy mummies Chelsea Tractor.
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Ever tried cycling 8 miles in the dark with 3 bags at 7 in the morning? in a suit? arriving sweaty and tired is hardly the best way to start a morning.
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Sorry Student but the answer is obvious .. give up that early morning paper round
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I’m sure it used to be that was and you had to live 3 miles away to get free bus rides!
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Awwwwwwwwwww…..poor little molly coddled darlings…live under a mile from school and are expected to walk…….. Parents get some back bone!!! Teach your kids some common sense, social skills and the highway code. Stop encouraging them to become fat and lazy spoilt little oiks who don’t even know how to converse with others unless it’s on a phone or via text!
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I remember when I went to school, I had to get up half an hour before I went to bed just to make sure I had enough time for the 15 mile walk, and I didn’t even get shoes till year 8…. My parents drove to work in their car, but being forward thinking heavy smokers would never let me ride with them in case I caught some nasty disease .. Instead my legs bowed under the weight of the school books, the winter months aged me so I looked like I had a reptiles neck by the time I was 14 and in the summer the pounding sun burnt me redder than a Guernsey tomato… Oh the good ole days.
If the children live on the bus route surely they deserve a place just as much as the chaps miles away .. or is it ok to exclude someone just because they live 1759 yards from the school gate .. I agree we should encourage more to walk to school as I did as a child but exclusion purely on distance seems somewhat unfair.
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Luxury! I had to pay for the privilege of walking 20 miles to school, barefoot, and when I got home my father would cut me in two with a breadknife!
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You mentioned the ‘b’ word!
You know the police get over excited when you mention the ‘b’ word!
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Well.. Some interesting comments.
I have two boys at junior school. We live a mile away from school. On good days, we all cycle to school – I then cycle on to work. If the weather is miserable and the roads wet and greasy (as they are at the moment) they go on the bus.
I have two main points to make – firstly, to ease congestion around the schools, I feel the school bus service should be increased, not decreased. As working, tax paying parents, we would willingly pay a contribution toward this, as long as all parents who utilise the service did the same.
Secondly (and in my mind, most importantly) I am a very keen cyclist. We encourage our boys to cycle as much as possible. They are both competent on their bikes. However, the disrepect and stupidity of many car drivers on our roads both angers and terrifies me. I have had several near misses and altercations with drivers overtaking us in the most ridiculous situations.
I’m sure more children could and would cycle or walk to school if other road users would be more sensible and considerate. I would welcome any feedback to my comments – with one proviso… if you wish to make a comment about children cycling to school, please can you get your bicycle out of the shed and try cycling along our roads for a few days to experience the (often) sheer stupidity of some drivers on our roads.
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Guernsey Mum,
I used to cycle my kids to school too and often used to think that a stick attached to the bike so as to stick out sideways from the bike, and on the end of it a paint brush liberally coated in paint stripper would be a good idea!
Seriously tho’, I think that it is great that you are cycling your boys to school. The more experience they have of the roads and how to keep themselves safe, the more independent they will be able to be as they grow older. Also, they will make safer drivers themselves having had plenty of experience of the road from a vulnerable road-users perspective. Maybe part of the driving licence exam here should be done on a bike to make people more aware of how to drive near cyclists.
I hope that you tell your boys to keep away from the kerb and to use their ears to assess what drivers are about to do, and I hope that you keep at it and don’t let the bad drivers put you off. In my experience, the bad drivers are very much in the minority but when they do rush past you, too close, too fast (usually, to immediately slam on their brakes in front of you!) it is maddening and sometimes alarming.
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First off, I’d like to say full marks to you for cycling yourself and encouraging your children to do so: regular cyclists have fewer days off sick than non-cyclists, as well as living longer and having lower rates of obesity (and take a look at this to see how cycling [and buses] could affect congestion through taking up less road space- http://www.geo.sunysb.edu/bicycle-muenster/traffic.jpg )
I cycle to work virtually every day. Mostly, I have to say, with no problems, and often I get here faster than I would in a car.
I have found on occasion that clear bad behaviour from motor vehicle drivers can be dealt with by catching them up (not hard in heavy traffic), drawing alongside, and tapping on the window to ask them politely about their behaviour. Almost without exception people are surprised, mortified, and apologetic. Being insulated from other road users in their little metal boxes they sometimes forget to take appropriate care, and the occasional tap on the window and conversation helps remind them.
Alternatively, if you’d like a bit of a laugh and more of a “name and shame” approach, get a cheap mobile video camera (like a Kodak playsport), mount it on your bike, and set it recording when you ride. Upload any instances of discourteous or dangerous driving as a clip to YouTube, and send us all (plus all your Facebook contacts) the link.
Guernsey being a small place, it doesn’t normally take too long for antisocial behaviour to rebound back to people, and social shaming like this works well to regulate behaviour in the future.
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One thing to remember is that times have changed. When I was young (a long time ago) I walked or cycled to school, or caught the service bus. Nowhere near as much traffic back then.
In more recent years, I cycled to & from work every day. I had serious near-misses pretty much weekly because of the stupidity of some drivers. As a parent I know I would hesitate to let my children cycle on Guernsey roads.
So, I can certainly sympathise with that stance.
BUT much of the frustrating traffic comes from that pesky school run; I could always tell the difference between term time and holidays. It would be wonderful to reverse the trend. However, it’s a bit of a Catch 22 and would take a concerted effort to shift people away from their beloved cars. I despair of that ever happening, but am more than willing to be proved wrong.
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Good post GuernseyMum, someone who who’s talking sense because the subject is part of her everyday life.
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Well said GuernseyMum. Perhaps the latest increase in fuel duty will encourage motorists to use their cars less and cycle more. I personally think they should have slapped on another 4p a litre and ringfenced the extra revenue to buy a brand new fleet of smaller buses.
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Sensible idea to gain extra to put aside for a better bus fleet, but then some wil complain they don’t use the busses so why should they pay for them in typical short sightedness.
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Ringfencing money raised from petrol duty, or road tax (if they brought it back in) or paid parking (if they brought that in) or car tax (if they brought that in) is key to creating a workable transport strategy with a viable bus service I think. I don’t understand why they are so set against the idea of ringfencing money to use as you suggest.
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Rosie – no it doesn’t! Your view is far to simplistic.
If by punitively taxing motorists out of their cars where then would the money come from to fill your ringfence?
So once revenue falls from the various sources you suggest where then does the shortfall come from? Well its either increaed fares for the buses or general revenue.
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Gilthead.
I don’t think that you would ever get 100% there because as is so often stated on this forum, there are some people who , come hell or high water, will not be jemmied out of their cars what ever it costs. I would still use my car on occasion and when I did, I would have to pay for the pleasure. I think most people would be the same.
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Make all the kids walk! That way they won’t be so obese!
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If this was The Old guernsey no doubt it would be fine,but modern guernsey i dont think this is agood idea,to many nutcases around
making parents walk to work would be much better
RIP THE OLD gUERNSEY
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PB – There is some wisdom in this post albeit intermixed with the usual ranting.
Not sure we can expect kids to want to walk to school when many parents don’t set the example.
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Do you walk to work then?
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I would say on average 80% of the time, yes I do.
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This is a positive change. One mile is not far for the lucky few who will now have an incentive to sample the benefits of walking to school. Hopefully the parents will not spoil it for them by taking them by car but of course may walk with them if there are any safety concerns.
PB/PLP – totally agree with your comments about parents setting an example. This would make them feel good :-)
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Spartacus,
The one mile limit is there because Education is obliged by law to provide free transport for pupils who are not within ‘walking distance’ of their school. Unfortunately that law is now hopelessly out of date because of the proliferation of traffic, especially wider vehicles. Consequently some roads are now unsafe for anyone to walk at peak times, let alone children.
If the bus is removed as an option, most parents will drive.
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ChrisJ
Roads are also unsafe for drivers and cyclists. Overcrowded buses also present a safety concern as do extra buses. Home schooling is the only safe option ;-)
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Perhaps if they hadn’t closed St Peter Port school, thus making 100s of pupils eligible for a free bus to La Mare and St Sampson,s then there wouldn,t be an overcrowding problem ….. but then that would have involved the States actually thinking through the implications of their actions wouldn,t it …….
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I used to walk to school when I was a kid in the UK, it was about a mile and a half in total. My parents had things called JOBS and had to be at work before I left for school. I was instilled with some degree of road safety that meant I could be trusted to walk along a VERY busy road to school.
@ GuernseyMum – All kudos to you but most kids DON’T know how to cycle on the roads safely, as there is NO Cycle proficiency test now. I wasn’t allowed on the roads by my parents, on a bicycle, until I had done the C.P test. The sooner idiotic/unsafe kids on bicycles are either stopped by the Police for dangerous driving (still applicable to 2 wheeled riders) the better.
As I’ve said before – anyone wanting to drive a 4 wheeled death dealer on the roads should be made to pass and bike test and ride a motorbike (and a real one NOT a pain in the eardrum moped)on the road for 3 years before being allowed to sniff a car. THAT way they’ll be more aware of 2 wheeled road users when driving a car.
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4 wheeled death dealer? really? So you think a 17 year old boy racer is safer on a motorcylce than a car? in fact you think a motor bike is safer than a car – ummm, not sure i’d agree on that one.
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safer to himself? probably not
safer to others? quite possibly
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Ali – By slang definition a “Boy Racer” is one who drives a souped up CAR and NOT a Motorbike. The point you go from being a Boy racer to riding a motorbike you become a BIKER and NOT a Boy racer.
The point I am making (quite concisely and logically) is that Motorbikes ARE safer when it comes to RTA’s involving both the biker and pedestrians or other road users- try comparing the amount of road fatalities caused by Motorbikes compared to the amount of road fatalities caused by 4 wheeled vehicles.
I think you’ll find that they are significantly lower.
I would rather my Children walk to school in the morning in a place where road users are on bikes compared to those that think “I’m alright Jack” encased in their “safe” Steel boxes on four wheels and regularly mount the pavement and drive at speed.
How many Bikers do you see driving on the pavement?
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A number of posters have said that reducing bus eligibility will lead to more parents using their cars to drop their children at school. To prevent this it would be as good idea of part of the island’s overall road strategy to totally ban the use of private cars for taking children to school or picking them up (special needs / nursery schools excepted). Children would then have to either walk, cycle or catch a bus. The rule could easily be enforced by the ‘specials’ allocated to schools and the reduction in road congestion would be very significant. It might even be possible to take such a scheme a step further and use current school parking areas as ‘park and ride’ centres for commuters. They would leave their cars well before school times and leave well after, reducing congestion in town even further than simply outlawing the ‘school run’.
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Sensible
I’m not sure the park and ride scheme would take off but the rest of your post is inspired. Love the idea of outlawing the school run but how would you stop parents from dropping off just around the corner from school?
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Yes, Sensible’s post is indeed inspired. And whatever it’s inspired by, I want to try some!
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ChrisJ – I think you’ll find it’s illegal.
So commuting workers are ok but not commuting school children?
Johnny’s mum works at his school but can’t take him in the car to work/school? “Sorry Johnny you’ll just have to walk as I’ll be executed by the irrational anti-car lets take them into a birch copse if they’ve ever smelt petrol Gestapo if I take you in the car!”.
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When we are all too lazy / late / or its too cold / wet to walk I drive to work …. passing the kid’s school and the wife’s work on the way( and by that is exactly the route I would be taking anyway …) So. If I drop the kids off on the way, aren’t I helping to reduce the number of vehicles on the road ? ( rather than adding another huge bus ? )
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Why don’t the schools all simply start earlier say 8am and then parents can still make sure they get to school on time by walking or riding etc with them then going onto work themselves?
Car share should also be encouraged more, within individual companies and schools, I see so many singular people driving into town of a morning!
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Schools are not babysitting services for working parents. I see many youngsters being dropped off at my local primary school before 8am. This is not acceptable – particularly at this time of year. I was under the impression it was against the school rules, also. If both parents insist on working then they must adjust their hours accordingly. Before the cries of ‘ both parents have to work to afford a mortgage’ I would suggest that is not the fact in a number of households where one wage would suffice if the household would be prepared to put up with less luxuries.
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It is very sad fact if drivers – whether commuters or school run parents – are effectively intimidating cyclists and pedestrians and thus creating a vicious circle of more and more cars.
Lets reverse this unhealthy trend rather than give in to it.
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It is certainly a fact that many many people are put off walking and cycling because of the quantity of cars on our roads and the way that they are driven, and similarly parents that won’t let the kids cycle either. They then of course jump into their cars and add to the problem.
And then there are lots of people who say we haven’t got a traffic problem when clearly this is an indication that we do.
I agree Spartacus. It would be lovely if we could reverse this trend.
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