The Welsh Government has announced an additional £10m to help the
bus industry safely transport more passengers to school, college
and work.
On the same day the Welsh Government has updated its learner
transport guidance so that local authorities and bus operators
are clear on the steps they must take to ensure that from
September children and young people can travel safely to school
and college.
The new academic term will see children and young people
returning to full time school or college for the first time since
March. As a result there will be a significant increase in the
number of children, young people and parents relying on bus
services to safely transport them to their place of learning or
work.
The additional £10m of Welsh Government funding is to help
operators manage the increased pressure on scheduled bus
services. It recognises that social distancing measures are
resulting in reduced capacity and that this in turn is
significantly affecting ticket revenue. The additional funding
will enable operators to increase the number of buses available
while also helping to cover costs associated with additional
staffing, fuel and maintenance of the bus fleet
Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, said:
“Coronavirus and the introduction of necessary social
distancing laws have placed significant pressure on our bus
operators, affecting the ticket revenue on which they rely.
“As children and young people prepare to return to school and
college from September and as a result, more parents also
return to the workplace, we need to do all we can to ensure
that people across Wales can safely access reliable bus
services.
“This additional £10m will enable Local Authorities and
operators to determine and deliver the additional services
needed to support learners to safely return to school and
college. It will also enable bus users who cannot work from
home to return to the workplace in a safe manner.
“We recognise that this is a very challenging time for our bus
operators and we will continue working closely with them and do
all we can to support them at this difficult time.”
The Welsh Government has also updated its operational guidance
for schools, which includes guidance on transport, catering
arrangements and revised shielding and ‘Test, Trace Protect’
guidance. A workforce risk assessment toolkit has also been
included.
The Education Minister, :
“This guidance has been updated to take into consideration the
most up-to-date public health advice to enable local
authorities, schools and colleges to plan for the safe return
of students and staff in September.
“It has been my priority for learners and staff to return to
schools and colleges as soon as we were assured it was safe to
do so, for the benefit of their educational and well-being
needs. I would like to once again thank staff for all their
hard work in making this possible.”
WLGA Leader and Spokesperson for Transport Cllr Andrew Morgan
said:
“Recent months have been really difficult for bus and coach
operators who we rely on to get our children safely to schools
across Wales. Throughout all of this there has been
constructive joint working between Welsh Government, local
authorities and operators. This latest allocation of funding
from Welsh Government will help operators deal with challenges
they face as we work with them to get systems back up and
running again in time for the return to school”.
CPT Cymru Director John Pockett said:
"We welcome this funding from the Welsh Government which
follows our negotiations with them. Members will be liaising
with ATCO colleagues and Transport for Wales to identify where
the funding needs to be targeted.
“We want to work closely with the Government here to ensure
that the funding support is best used to safeguard the bus
industry with passengers firmly at its heart.
“We also welcome the guidance from Welsh Government regarding
the return of school transport operations, and recognise the
hard work of all involved in its formulation during what has
been a worrying time for all concerned and we will continue to
work in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure the safe
transport of pupils.”
In Wales it is the law that people aged 11 and over must wear
face coverings on public transport. This law does not apply on
school transport.
