Bus strike may hit school runs from Monday

Students could be left without a school bus service as early as next Monday as a result of industrial action at Bus Éireann.

That’s the stark warning from Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs Anne Rabbitte after it emerged that Bus Éireann has written to private operators working under the School Transport Scheme to advise them that payments due on Friday will now be delayed.

The School Transport Scheme supports transport to and from school for children who live in remote areas. The scheme is operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.

“Bus Éireann currently relies on a number of private operators right across the county to provide a bus service under the School Transport Scheme. I have previously raised concerns regarding the impact of industrial action at Bus Éireann on school transport services.

“At the time I was assured that the industrial action will have no effect on the School Transport Scheme,” said the Galway East Deputy.

But she revealed that correspondence issued by Bus Éireann to private operators this week showed that the industrial action at the company is having a direct impact on the School Transport Scheme.

“Bus Éireann have notified private operators that payments they are due on Friday will now be delayed. This is a serious issue as private operators have warned that they may be forced to withdraw from the School Transport Scheme from as early as next Monday should they not receive their payments,” she warned.

The strike has already caused chaos on all routes into the city in particular, compounded by new traffic measures which were supposed to ease logjams but have so far had the opposite effect.

A statement from Bus Éireann reads: “Almost 1,300 private operators provide services as contractors on behalf of Bus Éireann under the School Transport Scheme. The current industrial dispute means that staff in local school transport offices who normally process accounts are not available which has caused a delay.

“However, a technical solution is being put in place which will see contractors being paid next week, who would normally have been paid this week. The contract agreement with each contractor sets out that payment will be made within 30 days of a correctly completed invoice being received by Bus Éireann.  Payments made next week are well within this range.

“School bus services continue to run normally during this dispute, with over 115,000 children availing of the School Transport Scheme, which is operated by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.