To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of a reasonable length of time for a bus journey time for home to school transport.

The Department of Education’s Home to School Transport Policy does not set out a maximum journey time, rather it outlines factors the EA should take into account when determining if a transport service is suitable. These include duration of the journey, age of the pupil, early start or late drop off, distance from pupils’ home and legal vehicle capacity. The policy also states that in determining the most suitable methods of assisting pupils, the EA should have regard to the interests of efficiency and economy as set out in Article 44 of The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.

The EA is responsible for the delivery of school transport and it informs me that it plans routes and services to minimise journey times as much as possible. Some journeys can take longer than may be expected for reasons such as distance from school, the need for door-to-door assistance for some pupils who require additional support and the time required for pupils to board and disembark the vehicle safely.

Transport assistance is provided for over 90k pupils each day and the EA must balance journey times for individual pupils with making best use of the available capacity on school transport services to ensure that those pupils who need transport to school are able to avail of it. Where it is unable to provide suitable transport which meets these aims, the EA may offer parents an allowance in lieu of transport.