Co Down father of four complains that school bus is ten years late
A Co Down father-of-four has complained to Translink that their school bus is late – by ten years.
Graham Doyle says the bus which collected his four children from Donaghcloney has been unable to get them to school in time - despite ten years of lobbying.
"I have had four children pass through Lurgan Junior High School, so this complaint comes from ten years of past and current experience," he said.
Children in Donaghcloney must get a regular bus at 8:20am to travel a mile to the Banbridge Lurgan Road bus stop where they must wait for a school bus.
However parents object that they must then stand at the side of a very fast and dangerous road for 35 minutes waiting for a bus that is always late.
Instead that have begged for the school bus to make the detour into Donaghcloney village to collect the children, but say that Translink tells them it cannot afford the time.
"For ten years, my children have stood for around 30 minutes at the side of the main Banbridge-Lurgan road, at the junction on the Hall Road and Annaghanoon Road bus stop,” Graham said.
"The majority of days, the children are still standing there at 9am waiting on the school bus to pick them up".
They eventually arrive at school around 9:15am, he said.
"The school bus is rarely on time, the children are constantly late, and it’s unacceptable. This issue has been ongoing for 10 years."
To make matters worse their bus stop has no glass to protect them from the weather, he added.
A another parent, Rachel Jordan, told the News Letter: “It is an absolute disgrace that my daughter is repeatedly being left standing waiting for a school bus that continues to be late. This raises serious concerns about their safety and well-being, particularly when children are left waiting for extended periods with little reassurance about when their bus will arrive.”
Local DUP Alderman Mark Baxter has been campaigning on the matter for almost ten years.
“It is absolutely ridiculous that children living in Donaghcloney have to board one bus in the village, travel approximately a mile to the main road, and then wait to catch a second bus to school," he said.
"To make matters worse, that second bus is regularly late, meaning pupils, particularly those attending Lurgan Junior High School, are frequently arriving after the school day has started." “The solution is staring everyone in the face," he added.
If the school bus made a simple diversion through Donaghcloney village it would add only a few minutes to its journey but would remove the need for children to change buses and provide a much safer, more reliable service, he added.
Local DUP MLA Jonathan Buckely is also Chair of the Stormont Infrastructure Committee.
He said: “Children should be able to rely on their school bus arriving on time and have adequate shelter while they wait. Reports of pupils waiting for 40 minutes beside a main road are deeply concerning.
“I will be taking this issue very seriously. This is ultimately about the safety of children. Translink must urgently review the service, and the shelter should be repaired promptly.
A Translink spokesperson said: “We apologise to the pupils and their families for previous delays to this service and we have put further mitigations in place to improve punctuality.
“From Monday 2nd November, after the half-term break, the outward journey of the bus has been brought forward and the bus pick up time at Johnny’s Turn has been moved to 08.38am.
“We work closely with the Education Authority (EA) to deliver school services and we will liaise with them regarding any changes to the route.”