School bus restrictions for secondary schools

Guernsey will be implementing a one-mile pick-up and drop-off restriction on school bus services for secondary schools from Monday 20th February.

The initial proposal was for restrictions to be put in place for primary and secondary school bus services in the island. A review, however, has highlighted that the primary school buses aren't operating at full capacity most of the time, and if they are, loadings are controlled by the school.

Hence, from next Monday the policy will be introduced for bus services to and from Les Beaucamps High School, St Sampson's High School, La Mare de Carteret High School and the Grammar School.

Inbound Morning Routes:
- Distances of approximately one mile from each of the secondary schools have been designated as the last official “pick-up” point that drivers can collect pupils from.

- Any pupil requesting to board the bus past this point i.e. within one mile of the school will only be picked up if there is room on the bus. There is therefore no guarantee of a seat for those that live close to the schools.

Outbound Afternoon Routes:
- Distances of approximately one mile from each school have been designated as the first point that drivers will be permitted to allow pupils to alight the vehicle.

The policy is being introduced following complaints from parents. They expressed concerns that students living further away from school were often unable to get a space on the bus, because pupils living much closer to the school were taking up the seats.

The Environment Department will continue to monitor passenger numbers, and review the decision at a later date.

(from CTV)

I still don't understand this. Surely the inbound service starts it's pick-up at the furthest point from the school and proceeds towards the school, picking up as it goes. So how do children near the school grab all the seats. I can see there could be a problem on the outbound trip though.

Why not issue bus passes based on where the children live. Or is that too simple.