Select Committee on Education and Skills Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX II

WEST YORKSHIRE PASSENGER TRANSPORT EXECUTIVE (METRO) YELLOW BUS PILOT SCHEMES

ILKLEY

Details:

    —  The scheme began in September 2002.

    —  Two buses painted yellow serve four primary schools, two different routes.

    —  Schools: All Saints, Ashlands, Ben Rhydding, Sacred Heart.

    —  On average 79 children use the buses per day (morning average 85, afternoon average 74).

    —  124 children are registered to use the buses in total.

    —  40-50% bus riders formerly travelled by car (10% by bus).

    —  Potentially saves around 30,000 car journeys per year.

    —  Partners: The scheme is a partnership between: Metro, Keighley and District Travel, Bradford Council (Road Safety and Education departments). Each partner plays a role in the different aspects of the scheme:


PartnerRole

Metro—Co-ordination of the scheme
—Communication with parents (including promoting the scheme)
—Communication with schools
—Co-ordinating safety activities for children
—Issuing bus passes
—Monitoring and evaluation
—Funding
Bradford Council—Assisting in safety activities for children
—Advice on walking buses and supervision of boarding and alighting
Keighley and District Travel—Operating and maintaining the buses
—Recruiting and training drivers
—Operating Yellow Bus Hotline


    —  Yellow bus Hotline: This is a facility for parents to relay messages to the driver. The driver has a "register" of the children booked to use the bus each day. If a child is not using the bus on any of the days they are booked on (eg through illness), their parents must call the Hotline to relay this message to the driver. Keighley and District Travel manage the Hotline.

    —  Very positive feedback from parents: 80% of parents gave the scheme an excellent quality rating.

    —  Main reason parents give for using the bus: to encourage children's independence. Parents consider the most important features of the scheme to be the "peace of mind" aspects such as: they know who the driver is, the driver knows the children and their routine, and the children are delivered to the school gate.

    —  The majority of children said the best things about the bus are: being able to travel with their friends, and the friendly driver.

    —  Quote from head teacher at one of the schools:

    "The yellow bus is part of our commitment to educate the `whole child'. If children walk, cycle or use the yellow bus to get to school they learn valuable personal and road safety skills they simply cannot learn from the back seat of a car"


 
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