MD press Bus Éireann on school bus places

Parents being left in limbo over tickets; while Bus Éireann operating in the ‘blind’

Parents are being left in limbo each summer, unsure whether their children will have a seat on the school bus come September, councillors have warned — as Bus Éireann insists it cannot guarantee tickets for the full duration of a student’s school years.

The concerns were raised during a meeting between Bus Éireann Regional Transport Manager Siobhán Griffin and members of the Ballybay-Clones Municipal District on Monday morning, when recurring problems with school transport dominated discussions.

Ms Griffin outlined the scale of the operation, explaining that Bus Éireann runs the School Transport Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education. Currently, it transports 150,000 mainstream students and 24,000 students with additional needs transported daily across 11,200 routes nationwide. In Monaghan alone, more than 4,200 mainstream students and 300 students with additional needs rely on the service.

She noted that Monaghan has been less affected by driver and vehicle shortages than other parts of the country. Nationally, the company is focused on expanding eligibility, maximising driver and bus availability, and piloting the integration of school and public transport routes, with the long-term aim of accommodating an additional 100,000 students by 2030.

However, Cathaoirleach Sinead Flynn said families continue to face the same uncertainty, year after year. She argued that integrating public and school transport is unrealistic and stressed that parents should not have to wait until August or September to find out if their children have a seat.

Furthermore, the Sinn Féin rep said Bus Éireann is not being informed about student numbers in good time.

“The Department of Education needs to take responsibility so Bus Éireann can plan forward if required. They [Dept] are only doing half a job,” Cllr Flynn said.

She also called on Bus Éireann to review routes, provide extra buses where necessary and reconsider its policy of not employing drivers over 70, provided they are medically fit. She also sought clarity around concessionary tickets and medical-card entitlements and questioned the fairness of parents paying for tickets without a guaranteed seat. She concluded by requesting a short-term dedicated support service with a named contact person to improve communication with families.

Safety concerns were also raised. Cllr Richard Truell (FG) highlighted what he described as an unsafe bus stop in Scotstown, noting that both a local Garda and the bus driver agreed it posed risks. Despite being flagged previously, no action had been taken, and he urged Bus Éireann to send an inspector to meet affected families.

Cllr Truell also pointed to the case of a rural Clones parent forced to take time off work to drive her children 3km to a new bus stop following a route change. He described driver shortages as a major issue and said leaving children unsure whether they would get a seat was “unfair and stressful,” citing cases where not all siblings received tickets.

Cllr Pat Treanor (SF) said councillors are often contacted when parents are refused seats. With school enrolments underway, he said clarity is urgently needed. He criticised the lack of guaranteed tickets for the duration of a child’s education and said extra buses and staff should be deployed if required.

Cllr Treanor raised further concerns about unsafe pick-up points, arguing that route decisions should be made through site visits rather than “from behind a desk”. Calling for a guarantee that every pupil would receive a seat, he suggested schools submit pupils’ Eircodes in advance to aid planning.

Cllr Seamus Coyle (FF) thanked Ms Griffin for her assistance with issues in Latton but questioned whether the “nearest school” rule had been relaxed, remarking that old school boundaries felt like “crossing the Berlin Wall”. He also highlighted the contradiction between national growth in school transport and falling enrolment in his local school, which had lost a teacher.

Responding, Ms Griffin confirmed that Bus Éireann has a strict policy not to employ drivers over 70 years. She outlined eligibility criteria: Primary pupils must live more than 3.2km from their nearest suitable school, and secondary students more than 4.8km away. Students who do not meet that criteria are considered concessionary and allocated seats only if space permits.

Ms Griffin added that eligible students, who apply on time, pay for their ticket or have a medical card are entitled to a seat.

Children attending a religious ethos or Gaelscoil are also eligible for transport even if it was not the nearest.

Ms Griffin conceded that Bus Éireann is somewhat “operating in the blind” as they must rely on parents to apply to gauge student numbers, although this information should be available from the Department sooner.

She stressed that the company cannot guarantee a ticket for the entirety of a student’s school cycle, although it seeks to avoid refusals. Inspectors physically assess routes, and contracts with bus operators run for five years, with new tenders due in June.

Ms Griffin said the new school transport portal is expected to open in early March and confirmed that councillors have a dedicated communication channel with Bus Éireann.