Gridlocked, backed up, bumper to bumper, tail backs from here to Honolulu - right across the country the traffic is hell. And since school started three weeks ago it's worse than ever. Well, so it might seem, but according to Eoin Keegan, director of traffic with Dublin Corporation, it's not that simple.
"Three-quarters of all schoolchildren either walk, cycle or use public transport to get to school. A survey conducted by the Dublin Transportation Office shows that only 24 per cent of school goers are driven to school every morning, and of that, half those journey would be made anyway. "There is clearly a problem with the cars on the road which just go to school and back but targeting a particular group such as schoolchildren and trying to get them out of cars won't make any significant impact. What we really need is modal change for everyone." Some parents have expressed concern about letting their children walk or cycle, because of "stranger danger" and fears that their children will be knocked down. "Ironically, the parents who choose to drive their children to school are the very people putting children who cycle and walk to school at risk," Keegan says.
Which leaves parents with a bit of a dilemma. Using public transport can mean standing at the bus stop at dawn. Stay in bed that extra 15 seconds and you could be watching full buses sail by for several hours before getting to school around midday.
Walking and cycling? Fine, when the weather is. So even though, relatively speaking, not all that many school kids are driven to school, choosing an alternative to the car isn't necessarily easy.
There is a school transport system operated through the Department of Education, but it has its problems. In rural areas where there is no scheduled bus to a school, the Department subsidises coaches provided by Bus Eireann. According to the Department, nearly all rural schools avail of this service. The School Transport System was reviewed last year, and a couple of recommendations, such as improving the system for special schools, have been implemented. However, according to Rose Tully of the National Parents Council (Post-Primary), "parents have major concerns with the condition of the buses used for the schools. There are problems with breakdowns, and a lack of safety measures such as supervision and seat-belts; also, cramming three people into two seats, which is a bit much at 15 and 16 years of age. "It is unrealistic to put 50 students on a bus with no supervision other than the driver. So far we have been lucky, but we don't want to wait until there is a serious accident before we see any attempts to improve the situation."
The National Parents Council (Primary) is equally concerned with the school transport system. "There are major safety issues with the current system," says Fionnuala Kilfeather, national co-ordinator. "It isn't unheard of for a school bus to arrive before the school gates are open, and there is a lack of clarity concerning responsibility for the four-year-olds left there waiting with their school mates. "There are also safety issues on the buses. If we had a system which met the wider needs of the community, so buses didn't just do the school run, it would be more cost-effective and the condition of the buses could be improved."
In Dublin, students who live between two and three miles from their nearest school (depending on whether they are in primary or second-level school) are entitled to free and subsidised travel on scheduled bus routes. School Link, meanwhile, is the new title this autumn for an old service. Double-deckers on certain routes catering for school children only have been replaced by coaches sub-contracted from private companies.
An overall transport system for schools would be ideal, according to a spokesperson for School Link, but at the moment the funding to create such a service is not forthcoming. Bad news for students who don't go to school around the corner. For a variety of reasons the school around the corner isn't always suitable. There is a growing demand for allIrish primary school education in some areas, while some parents would rather send their children to a multi-denominational schools or fee paying schools. In Dublin, parents who choose to send children to an all-Irish secondary school face a challenging commute.
Such is the case at Colaiste Eoin and Colaiste Iosagain in QBC-land, where students commute from as far away as Ashbourne, Co Meath, and Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow. According to Pascal MacGabhann, who chairs the parents' council representing both schools, "the majority of pupils walk, cycle and use public transport, but some students come from areas which are too far to cycle and are not on a bus route. "Alternatively, we find there are problems with some of the routes because they are catering for too many commuters. The bus is full by the time it gets to some areas and students coming to school here end up waiting a long time and getting to school late."
As for the perennial problem of getting to school on time, MacGabhan says: "We don't see that there is any quick-stop solution."
