Debate contribution: Safety at School Bus Stops

Debate contribution by Mr Doug Beattie MC on 2 June 2025.

MLA

Mr Doug Beattie MC

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

2 June 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Safety at School Bus Stops

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4980887

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you. Mr Deputy Speaker. First, I acknowledge the tragic death of Caitlin-Rose McMullan, Caitlin Hogg and the other schoolchildren who have been killed or injured owing to our poor road safety and infrastructure. I know that my words will never ease the families' grief, but I commend them for the courage that they have shown in that grief. I also commend Mr Durkan for proposing what is an important motion. The Member for Foyle is right to focus on improving safety for all children who transit to and from school. On that point, the Ulster Unionist Party supports the premise of the motion. We have a number of issues with it, however. Our amendment is not designed to derail the motion but to add value to it in a positive way. I hope that Members will listen to my words, because they are positive, and the issue is far more complicated than people think. Let me explain. The motion:

"calls on the Minister for Infrastructure to introduce legislation requiring vehicles to stop for school buses, in line with best practice in other jurisdictions."

The vast majority of buses that are used to ferry children to and from school are not Education Authority (EA) buses but Translink or private-company buses. They are not as clearly marked as many of us would think or would like. For example, of the 91,500 children who availed themselves of public transport to and from school in 2023, only 21,000 did so in an EA-marked bus. It is therefore near impossible for drivers to know that they are to stop for pupils because it is a school bus, because, in many cases, they do not know that it is a school bus. That is why our amendment:

"calls on the Minister for Infrastructure to work alongside the Minister of Education, school transport providers, the PSNI and other stakeholders to bring forward a cross-departmental strategy to improve pupil safety".

Of course, out of that, we want legislation. That includes the correct marking of buses. To add to the complication, around 4,800 children do not get free bus transport in year 1. Many travel on buses that are for the public, so there are schoolchildren on buses for the general public that are not marked. That is just the figure for year 1 pupils. Remember the lifetime of the child: if they do not get free bus transport in year 1, they are not going to get it in years 2 to 7, so the number increases. Remember also that 4,800 pupils get taxis and that 8,800 use private buses, mostly unmarked. Of course, the motion is bigger than making sure that vehicles stop for school buses. That is the tip of the iceberg. It is also fair to say that bus stop infrastructure is, in some places, not fit for purpose. Indeed, I have witnessed bus drivers drop children off at non-designated bus stops on busy roads with no footpaths. A significant number of bus stops are on country roads, with no footpaths or lay-bys for buses to pull into. Children use those stops daily. Schoolchildren are walking to bus stops on rural roads that have no footpaths. It is therefore not just an issue with bus stops but an issue of how children get to those bus stops in the first place on rural roads with no footpaths. My office regularly gets complaints from parents whose children get a private bus that the EA provides but still have to walk on rural roads to get the bus, because it is not a pickup service.

In Knocknamuckley — near Bleary, for those who do not know — there is a busy, fast and dangerous road where children stand on a grass verge in order to get picked up by a Translink bus. There is absolutely no visibility for oncoming traffic.

There are school buses that pass children who are waiting to get to school. The children are not allowed on those buses because they are specified for particular schools, even though they are heading in the same direction. Instead, the children are forced to wait for a bus that is designed for the general public and is not marked as a school bus. We have children getting public buses on roads where cars are allowed to drive at a minimum of 50 mph. There are not even islands in the middle of the road to help children to cross.

I am sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have timed myself out.

754 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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