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Bus drivers 'should refuse to move' if pupils stand up as £1 fares boost numbers

Twm OwenLocal Democracy Reporting Service
News imageVia the office of Laura Anne Jones MS Pupils crowded on a Newport Bus service to Monmouth all wearing school uniform. They are standing in the aisle and holding on to the green handrails. Via the office of Laura Anne Jones MS
The number of passengers on public bus services has increased since a £1 single bus fare for those aged 16 to 21 in Wales was introduced

Bus drivers should refuse to move if schoolchildren do not sit down in available seats, a councillor has said.

Drivers of public bus services are only advised to ask pupils to sit as there is no requirement for passengers to do so, unlike dedicated school buses.

Concerns over overcrowded public buses have been raised since schools returned, with a photograph shared online showing pupils standing in a crowded aisle while on a Newport Bus service to Monmouth.

Monmouthshire council chief infrastructure officer Debra Hill-Howells confirmed there had been an increase in passengers on public services since a £1 single fare for 16-to-21-year-olds in Wales had been introduced in September.

Hill-Howells said this had led to "congested" services, with some pupils choosing to stand rather than using seats on the top deck of buses.

The discussion prompted one scrutiny committee chairman, Alistair Neill, to suggest drivers should refuse to continue the journey if this was the case.

As a result of the busy services, the council - which had been providing some secondary school pupils entitled to free school transport with bus passes for public service buses - will provide a direct service instead.

News imageMonmouthshire council Alistair Neill, the Welsh Conservative councillor for Gobion Fawr on Monmouthshire County Council. He is a middle-aged man in a black suit with a white shirt and a green and blue striped tie. He is wearing glasses and has slicked back, thinning grey hair Monmouthshire council
Alistair Neill says it is "absolutely appropriate" for drivers not to continue their journey if pupils are standing

The Conservative councillor said: "Is it not the case the driver should be obligated to say everyone needs to be seated, for them to be transported safely as opposed to allowing learners to say 'I prefer to stand'?

"It seems absolutely appropriate drivers be instructed the bus will not move off if people are standing and there are empty seats."

Hill-Howells said there was a "distinction" between public buses and dedicated home-to-school transport on which every pupil is assigned a seat.

News imageMonmouthshire council Debra Hill-Howells, Monmouthshire council's chief infrastructure officer. She is wearing a patterned black, white and grey shirt and has glasses. Her hair is blonde and sits on her shouldersMonmouthshire council
Debra Hill-Howells said some schoolchildren were choosing to stand on the lower deck rather than sit down on the top deck of double-decker buses

Hill-Howells said a council inspector had witnessed pupils standing on the lower deck of a bus and "choosing not to go upstairs".

She added: "They'd rather stand so there is some behaviour causing some of the congestion. Where we find an issue we will replace it with a dedicated service."

In 2024 the council agreed to provide some secondary school pupils who are entitled to free transport with bus passes for public buses as a way of supporting those services.

This helped the council reduce the number of home-to-school transport contracts it held.

Hill-Howells also said the council welcomed the increase in fare-paying passengers following the introduction of the £1 journeys.

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