Bus Éireann to tender for school bus for Ballivor and Trim is "positive step"

Parents of students left without a school bus place have cautiously welcomed the news that Bus Eireann is tendering for a bus service to run between Ballivor and Trim.

Last week, families from Ballivor walked 17km from Ballivor to Trim to highlight the huge financial and time pressures they are under to get their children to school.

At least 17 children from Ballivor have been left without a place on the school bus to Trim.

Ballivor resident Lillian Lee has two children attending Boyne Community School and Scoile Mhure respectively. She said:

"It is good news but I don't know how near we are to it getting it. How long are they going to leave this tender application open for. Are they just going to kick it down the road, I'd be happier if we had some kind of time frame."

Lillian explains how much of an impact the lack of a school bus service has on her family:

"It is a disaster. I'm working remotely some of the days and I'm trying to run out and pick them up and you can get delayed when you do that, it's just not ideal.

"The expense of of it in fuel costs is just unbelievable. We do an extra 300km a week going to Trim and back and when I'm not working that car never leaves the driveway. Anything I need to do locally, I go on the bike or walk.

"They are trying to get us to use public transport, use our cars less for the environment and they are forcing us to get into cars driving in and out to school. At the end of the week, all I ever think of is when are we going to get this bus."

The Ballivor mother applied for tickets for her children as soon as the application process was opened but was told the students were not in the catchment area for the Trim schools and they would not be getting seats.

"We paid our 500 euros on the 1st of July and on the 23rd of August we got the email saying we weren't being issued with tickets and that was the first day of the school term.

"We were told that we were attending the 4th nearest school.

"I appealed that decision and got a blank refusal with no explanation and was told that if I wasn't satisfied to take it up with the ombudsman.

"We wanted my daughter to go to all girl's school and Scoil Mhuire is the nearest all girl's school, I don't know why you can't have a choice in that."

Deputy Peadar Toibin who participated in the walk last week says that it is a positive first step. He added:

"The tender has been put out by Bus Eireann for a bus from Ballivor to Trim for school children. We are hopeful that a bus company will tender for this job. The first step has been taken by Bus Eireann in relation to this so that's something positive.

"There are dozens of families right through Meath who are still struggling without a bus service to school and thousands of families across the country who are still snookered in terms of transport.

"If we get this bus up and running it will mean that dozens of families will have an ability to get their kids safely to school, it'll mean that they won't have to take time off work. It'll also reduce cost of living for these families. Driving back and forth into school eats up diesel. We are hoping this will work.

"The government needs to do more in terms of helping bus companies. Bus companies have had a significant increase in the price of diesel over the last number of years and many of them are locked into contracts at certain prices and this is putting enormous pressure on them."

Deputy Toibin added that you cannot underestimate "people power" and thanked parents and students for attending the protest walk.

"People don't know the power they have," he said. We did something similar in Kildalkey a few years ago and we managed to get a bus for there as well. Any time people in Meath stood up for themselves, in the main they have achieved their objectives.

"Well done to all of the parents who walked with myself from Ballivor on a cold foggy morning all of the way into Trim, it was a very long walk for many people but it will be worth it in the end."

Bus Eireann has been contacted for comment