Buses shouldn’t continue journeys if schoolchildren won’t sit down according to councillor

Twm Owen Local Democracy Reporter

Bus drivers should refuse to leave stops if school children travelling on public buses don’t sit down, a councillor has said.

Drivers of public bus service are presently advised only to ask pupils to sit, rather than stand, as there is no requirement passengers on public buses have to take a seat in the same way children travelling on dedicated school buses must.

Concern at “overcrowded” public bus services have been raised since schools returned in September, with a photograph shared on social media showing pupils travelling on a Newport Bus service to Monmouth standing in a crowded aisle.

Monmouthshire County Council chief officer Debra Hill-Howells confirmed there has been an increase in passengers on public bus services since a £1 single bus fare for all journeys for those aged 16 to 21 in Wales was introduced in September.

That has resulted in “congested” services and as a result the council, which had been providing some secondary school pupils entitled to free school transport with bus passes for public service buses, will provide a direct bus service for them instead, said Ms Hill-Howells.

But she also told a council scrutiny committee part of the reason some buses are “congested” is pupils choosing to stand rather than take up seats on the top deck of double decker buses.

That prompted the committee chair Councillor Alistair Neill to suggest drivers should refuse to continue the journey if pupils are standing.

The Conservative said: “Is it not the case the driver should be obligated to say everyone needs to be seated for them to be transported safely as opposed to allowing learners to say ‘I prefer to stand’?”

Cllr Neill, who represents Gobion Fawr, said: “It seems absolutely appropriate drivers be instructed the bus will not move off if people are standing and there are empty seats.”

Ms Hill-Howells said there is a “distinction” between public bus services and dedicated home to school transport, such as minibuses or coaches, on which every pupil is assigned a seat.

All passengers on public bus services are free to chose whether to sit or stand and the rules and regulations set a capacity for seated passengers and those standing said the officer. Drivers will ask passengers to move down the bus as they can’t stand beyond a certain point.

In response to Cllr Neill, who asked if the council could issue “clear guidance” drivers ask pupils to sit, Ms Hill-Howells said it already issues guidance drivers should remind pupils to sit, rather than stand.

Cllr Neill replied: “Extraordinary, absolutely extraordinary. That seems something we might want to look into and make it something we approach the Welsh Government about.”

The committee was told the Newport Bus Chepstow to Monmouth 69 service has seen a recent increase in passengers but there was no issue on the company’s X74 service between Newport and Chepstow.

A council inspector had observed pupils standing on the lower deck of a bus, said Ms Hill-Howells and said: “We have double deckers on some of these routes and they are choosing not to go upstairs they’d rather stand so there is some behaviour causing some of the congestion. Where we find an issue we will replace it with a dedicated service.”

The council had agreed in 2024 to provide some secondary school pupils entitled to free transport with bus passes for public buses as a way of supporting services for the general public.

From September last year the council had also increased the distances pupils qualify for free school transport which has contributed to a £268,000 underspend for the council’s passenger transport unit.

The shift towards providing teenagers with free passes for public buses has also helped the council reduce the number of home to school transport contracts it holds. The committee was warned the underspend could change due to changes to contracts.

Ms Hill-Howells also said the council welcomed the increase in fare paying passengers following the introduction of the £1 journeys.

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