Sinn Féin TD Darren O’Rourke has welcomed confirmation from Bus Éireann that additional school bus places will be made available for students commuting to school in Navan from the Rathfeigh, Skryne, Tara area.The Meath East TD told Meath Live, “This week I got confirmation from Bus Éireann that additional school transport places will be made available for students in the Rathfeigh, Skryne, Tara area from January.“This is very welcome news. The lack of a bus service in this area was causing huge issues for parents who were trying to juggle work commitments and the school run. It completely discommoded parents and students.
“There is huge demand for school bus places right across the state and the service is vastly oversubscribed every year. This was particularly the case this year, when free-fees were introduced. Thousands of students who had previously availed of the scheme on a ‘concessionary’ basis failed to secure a place. A full bus load, 31 pupils, in the Rathfeigh, Skryne, Tara were affected.
“Bus Éireann have confirmed that additional capacity has now been secured and will commence on Thursday 5th January. I understand that each newly-eligible family will now receive an email and a temporary ticket verification by email, on Tuesday 2nd or Wednesday 3rd January which they will be able to print out and produce for the driver to facilitate travel.
“In the first instance, I hope that the service does get up and running on 5th January and that it accommodates every child that was initially refused a ticket. Bus Éireann have yet to confirm that that is the case, and say that approximately 20 pupils are to be catered for in their correspondence. There is no excuse for leaving any child behind.”This is welcome news but it is a situation that could, and should have been, avoided. Expanding the School Transport Scheme is a win-win for parents and for the environment. By expanding this scheme, we can cut transport emissions, reduce dangerous traffic congestion outside schools, while providing parents with a convenient method of transport for their children.
“This is good news for those living the Rathfeigh, Skryne, Tara area, but we need to radically expand the service across the board.”
