APR 2005

School Bus Upgrade Planned

During a meeting between the Youth Council and the bus companies to address various issues concerning school bus transport in Co Donegal, Connell Diver said "The Lough Swilly Bus Company is set to upgrade a substantial portion of its fleet over the next six months. The meeting, which was also attended by representatives from Bus Eireann addressed a wide range of issues including upgrading of buses, overcrowding, seat belt usage and parking.

Anthony Delap, also from the Bus Company, informed the members of the Youth Council that the Company is currently spending a large portion of their maintenance budget on vandalism repairs and if the vandalism was reduced they could spend more money maintaining their buses.

Members of the Youth Council acknowledged that a small minority of people are causing vandalism and they agreed to encourage young people to report these incidents to the bus company to stamp out vandalism on school buses. Kevin Kelly from the Youth Council stated that "A points or reward system should be brought in for buses and if vandalism was reduced these young people should be rewarded when it came to bus upgrading." The youth council members also agreed to work with student councils in each school to promote safety issues on buses and to contact the School Transport Working group in the Department of Education to find out what its plans are to reduce overcrowding on school buses and to introduce seat belts on buses.

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