MORE buses are taking to the streets this weekend in preparation for schools reopening for the new term.
Bus operator Stagecoach is putting around 60 more buses – a mixture of more frequent buses and dedicated school services – back into service across the Midlands for the start of the new academic year.
Some routes will have special journeys for student only, which will run alongside normal services. These will be identified by the letter ‘C’ after the route number and the words ‘For Students Only’ below the destination.
These services can only be used by students and – in line with government advice – all seats are available for use, and face coverings are recommended for all children over 11 unless exempt. Passenger who are exempt are encouraged to apply for a Journey Assistance Card on the stagecoach website.
All public bus services will continue to observe social distancing guidelines.
Customers not travelling for school, college or work, are asked to try to avoid school and peak travel times. People are also encouraged to use contactless payments wherever possible, or buy tickets online through the Stagecoach app.
Stagecoach says it has put a range of measures in place to help passengers feel safe and confident. All buses have been accredited with Visit Britain’s ‘We’re Good to Go’ official mark, recognising the work carried out to meet government and industry Covid-19 guidelines and the processes in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.
The comprehensive regime includes daily deep cleans and contactless payments, in addition to the government’s mandatory use of face coverings.
Mark Whitelocks, Managing Director for Stagecoach Midlands, said: “We want to make sure that as students return to school and college and more people return to work, they can be confident about their journey with us.
“We’ve worked closely with local authorities to put a number of additional measures in place including dedicated school bus services and extra buses on busy routes to ensure we can separate school children and public bus services wherever it’s possible to do so.
“We’re continuing with our extensive daily deep cleaning of all buses and with everybody playing their part and following the rules on wearing face coverings and hygiene, people can continue to travel to work, school and college by bus safely and confidently.”
Visit https://tinyurl.com/qr46byj for information on dedicated school bus services.
