Crowds of school children were captured on video outside St Bede’s Catholic College in Lawrence Weston, rushing to get on the bus. One parent told Bristol Live she is concerned for the safety of the children and scared that someone might get crushed.
The mother, who does not want to be named, has two children at St Bede's and said the situation has deteriorated since September. She said many of the children fight for a place on the number 3 bus to Cribbs Causeway where they have to get connecting buses home.
First Bus told Bristol Live it is aware of the overcrowding and will be putting on an additional bus service from April 2023. This additional bus service will come as 42 services are set to be cut in April, including some servicing the north of the city.
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The school day at St Bede's finishes at 3.15pm but according to one parent who has been complaining to First about the service on a daily basis, her children are not getting home until 5pm most days. She has requested they put on more buses which service the stop outside the school in Long Cross.
She said there are constant problems with the bus not letting kids on or one of her children getting on the bus while the other is left. The mum also claimed some children are walking two stops ahead of the one outside the school to guarantee a place on the bus.
"I don’t understand as a city why we’re all depending on First Bus," she added. “These kids are desperate to get on this bus. Kids are walking two stops before the school just to guarantee a space because the next one is not until 3.50pm
“It might not seem like a long time but they have to get their connecting bus. If they don’t get on the bus the next one is always late or it’s cancelled.
“I contact First Bus on a daily basis because they tell me to. My kids were getting home at 5.50pm in September and October. The bus driver cannot deal with the pushing and shoving, I can understand. That’s why these kids are legging it.”
Rob King, the Principal at St Bede’s Catholic College said: “The difficulties with capacity on the public buses servicing St Bede's became obvious in September 2022. We continue to work with First Bus and a number of local politicians to improve the situation for our students.”
A spokesperson for First West of England said: “We are aware of issues with overcrowding on the bus service and are sorry to hear that children are experiencing difficulties getting on the bus. But we are glad to report that, after a request from the school, we have agreed to put on an additional service from April this year.
“In addition, from April 2, 2023, we are extending two journeys on the service 4 to Cribbs Causeway that would otherwise normally stop at Henbury. These will be the 15.19 and 15.39 from Long Cross. There will also be the usual service 3 that passes Long Cross at 15.33 and 16.03. We would like to thank the school, parents and carers for their patience, we hope that these service changes will resolve the issue.”
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