THE Transport Board has the fleet and a plan to deal with the avalanche of schoolchildren embarking on the new semester which starts in two weeks.
Desmond Sabir, operations manager at the board since 1990, said three new routes specifically geared to the heavy influx were being implemented.
One of the new routes will be an evening trip from St Leonard’s Secondary to Oistins. “We normally bring them down on mornings, but we don’t take them back on evenings,” Sabir noted. “That has become necessary because they are closing earlier now.
“There is another route coming from Alma Parris Secondary to Bridgetown and also from Drax Hall/Ellerton area to Lodge School.”
There are 193 buses in operation and for next month, there will beat least 30 more.
“By September, we could have 227 and once more buses come on stream, we will develop more school services.
“Sometimes, it is not always necessary to develop a school service but it might be necessary to develop a route to take children from Bridgetown. Wherever we find areas to provide school service, we always do it.”
Sabir acknowledged it was difficult to implement new routes because of the demographics.
“There are about 4 000 children that enter the school system every year and an almost equal amount leave the system. We would not be aware of where these children are coming from, so during the first month of the school term, we are actively looking and checking to make sure that we can cover as many areas as possible.”
Sabir said when many people thought of the new semester, they focused on the secondary schools, but noted the primary schools were of equal importance.
“We have to take into consideration the primary schools as well. When people hear of school buses, they only think of the secondary schools but at the Transport Board, we focus on the primary schools as well,” Sabir said. (MK)
