Stagecoach puts on extra school buses after video reveals children squashed on crowded Preston to Lancaster service

Anitha Ram, an NHS keyworker from Broughton, said she was horrified when she received the video from her 13-year-old daughter, shortly after she boarded the bus to Lancaster Girls' Grammar School yesterday (September 3).

The video showed children squashed together onboard the crowded bus, with some forced to stand in the aisle for the 20-mile journey to school due to a lack of spaces.

Anitha said she was 'livid' when she saw the video, and said that her daughter and other children were being 'put at risk' of catching coronavirus due to the crowded conditions.

But Stagecoach, who operate the school service from Preston to Lancaster, said it will now provide an extra bus on the route to help with social distancing.

It also assured parents that all of its services are compliant with the Government's strict COVID-19 guidelines and none of its buses have exceeded the legal passenger capacity.

Rob Jones, managing director for Stagecoach Cumbria & North Lancashire, said: "Extensive planning and detailed preparations have been put in place in partnership with local authorities to make sure students and commuters can travel with us safely and confidently.

"This includes special school bus services on top of normal planned public bus services, adding over 2,000 additional passenger seats to assist with social distancing.

"Overall, the return of students on our services has run very smoothly, however we are aware of one service to Lancaster Girls Grammar School which was particularly busy.

"While passenger numbers were within the legal capacity, we have immediately put in place an additional vehicle on this route to aid social distancing.

"It will operate from this afternoon for the foreseeable future and we will continue to closely monitor the level of demand for this service.

"We would like to reassure parents that the safety and well-being of students and all other customers remains our absolute priority.

"All of our services 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.

"Our comprehensive regime includes daily deep cleans of vehicles, and contactless payments, in addition to supporting the government's rules on face coverings.

"We also offer a busy bus indicator on our app and live service updates to help customers plan their journeys."

Jackie Cahalin, headteacher at Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School, has welcomed addition of an extra bus on the Preston route.

She said: "We had worked with Stagecoach prior to school reopening in September to alert them to our concerns over the necessary measures needed to ensure students travelling to Lancaster would be safe.

"We also took part in the Lancashire School Transport survey so we had an indication from parents about numbers travelling on public transport to school as well as dedicated school services. Stagecoach had assured us they would assess the situation at the start of term.

"Students and parents were quite rightly worried after yesterday morning but I am pleased that Stagecoach have been able to provide another bus on the Preston route.

"This will be very helpful in ensuring our students can travel to school safely."