Translink, and the Education Authority (EA) are working together to plan services for the safe return to school this autumn.
Parents, carers and pupils are reminded to follow the safety advice and requirements and respect everyone’s journey to keep each other and staff, safe.
David Cowan, Translink Director of Commercial Operations explained:
“Safety is our top priority, and we will continue to engage closely with EA colleagues and schools as we return to delivering the normal school network from Wednesday 1st September.
“Parents, carers and pupils should check our website or journey planner for specific journey details for both dedicated school and regular services as some journeys may have altered since the last school term.
“To ensure our network is cleaner than ever, we are using new technology and anti-viral products that continually kill bacteria and viruses. We also have protective screens on vehicles and in-stations, PPE for staff, new sanitiser dispensers, good ventilation systems and more safety announcements.
“We would remind all post primary pupils they must continue to wear a face covering unless exempt, on any form of home to school transport. Pupils should also continue to hand sanitize and use cashless payments such as mLink or travelcards where they are not eligible for a sessional school pass. We would also ask parents / carers and schools for their patience at this time as every year it takes a bit of time for the school traffic to settle into a pattern.
“Using the bus and train to travel to school is the smarter active and greener travel choice. We have worked closely with EA and encourage all pupils where appropriate to consider active travel options including walking and cycling as a positive step towards tackling the climate crisis and ensuring a cleaner, healthier environment for everyone,” David concluded.
Eve Bremner, Assistant Director of Transport at the Education Authority, said:
“The EA has worked hard throughout COVID to make sure our staff and pupils travel safely together. We’ve installed hand sanitiser dispensers on all our buses, driver screens, enhanced our cleaning regime and distributed face coverings to over 50,000 pupils.
“Over the summer we’ve been working hard to make arrangements for existing and new passengers. We’re looking forward to welcoming pupils back on board in September and we’d encourage parents and pupils to remember the importance of good hand hygiene and wearing a face covering,”Eve concluded.
Sessional Passes will be valid on Translink services from Wednesday 1st September.
For full details on back to school travel arrangements visit www.translink.co.uk or use Translink’s Journey Planner.