Push to review age limits for school bus drivers amid shortage

After 48 years of driving the bus for Kilmore Central National School, John Gould has bid his farewell. “I will miss the kids and the banter,” he says teary-eyed before his last journey with the students.

They chant “John, John, John” while carrying a big hamper filled with crafted cards and goodies from the school to the bus.

The celebratory, heartfelt goodbyes only briefly obscure the bigger issues at hand: The shortage of school bus drivers. John himself is the first person who would hop back into the 16-seater to accommodate the children, their families and the school. But the age restriction applying to drivers, employed for school runs by Bus Éireann or subcontractors, remains at 70 years. John will celebrate his 70th birthday in August.

Bus Éireann have explained: “Our decision to operate the scheme with drivers up to age 70 is grounded in the best safety interests of our customers, including young children, our drivers and other road users.”

However, politicians and others have consistently called for this limit to be raised to 75 years if candidates pass annual medical checks. Deputy Brendan Smith is among those campaigning for the change.

“Qualified drivers in good health are able to drive buses for private hire. The 70 year age restriction is applicable to drivers on a public service routes. A person unable to drive a school bus could be driving a bus hired privately for a school for football, swimming or tours,” highlighted Deputy Smith of the situation.

The shortage of bus drivers is not a new topic to Deputy Smith as he has raised the issue in the Dáil on a number of occasions, most recently in May, when he asked again about raising the age restriction.

The Government has vowed to “carry out an independent assessment on the feasibility of removing the exclusion of drivers aged over 70 from the School Transport Scheme” and engage with the Department of Transport and Bus Éireann, he confirmed.

Separately, a study commissioned by the Road Safety Authority concluded that there is an increased risk of collision for drivers of large vehicles over the age of 70.

The research was carried out by Professor Desmond O’Neill from the National Office for Traffic Medicine.

His findings conclude that older drivers can reduce risk by travelling off peak and avoiding adverse conditions. However, the work environment of a school bus driver “requires you to go regardless of weather, regardless of day or light, regardless of rush hour, road conditions”.

Regardless of the age limitation, John Gould from the Kilmore Parish highlights a number of other factors that need to be addressed: “I had to buy a minibus, pay for my own insurance, and get no holiday pay.”

John is a subcontractor for Bus Éireann. “Who can afford that for a part-time job?” he asks.

Unless the person also ran a taxi-service, like John used to do back in the days, it would hardly be worth it.

Owning a timber products company down the road from the school has always allowed John the flexibility to work around the school hours. He understands that “not everyone can do that”.

Gratefully, Kilmore NS will have Jennifer, John Gould’s daughter-in-law, filling the bus driver’s seat from September on.

Meanwhile, the schools in Bailieborough, Killinkere and Shercock have not had a bus service for certain routes since mid-May, only alleviated by the fact that the school year is coming to an end now.

And while refunds are currently being processed by Bus Éireann, they will only be a token compared to the week-on-week struggle endured by parents juggling school runs and work schedules.

Bus Éireann has assured parents that they are “continuously seeking additional vehicles with available drivers to joins its panel for the provision of school transport services. The Bus Éireann School Transport team is working intensively to ensure that transport arrangements are put in place as soon as possible.”