Bus Eireann responds to families' anger over shortage of school bus transport across the county

Bus Eireann has apologised to families who have been informed their school bus transport service will not be operational for the start of term next week.

Dozens of parents of school children at a number of locations contacted Meath Chronicle to voice their depair at the 11th hour communication informing them that there would be no buses in place to take their children to school.

Among the areas affected are Ballivor and Longwood as well and Kentstown and other bus routes into Navan.

Families in Ballivor have been left stunned and stranded after Bus Éireann cancelled school bus tickets to Coláiste Clavin in Longwood with just days to go before the new school year begins.

Parents say they are “angry, betrayed and abandoned” after tickets already confirmed, and in some cases delivered by post, were suddenly revoked in a flurry of last-minute emails. For working households in Ballivor, where there is no secondary school and no public transport alternatives, the blow has been described as “devastating.”

Meath Chronicle also understands there will be no bus service from Kentstown to Colaiste na Mi next week with anxious parents only informed overnight (21st August) which could be affecting as many as 70 students.

Eileen Costello Rawat has two school-going children, one entering 5th Year and one starting 2nd year attending Colaiste na Mi. The family live in Curraghtown/Brownstown which is about 3km from Kentstown village.

"I haven't been informed, some parents were notified via email that no service will be operating. Others, including myself, have had no communication from Bus Eireann either via email or through their family portal."

"As a household with two parents working full time, living in a rural community, we are entirely dependent on the school bus service to get our children to and from school.

Bus Éireann operates the school transport scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. Bus Éireann has issued over 142,000 tickets to date to mainstream services for 2025/26 school year, an increase of almost 4 per cent of tickets issued compared to last year.

In a statement released at 9pm this evening (Friday 22nd August), the company said operational challenges and market shortages in the bus/driver industry were at the heart of the issue:

"Despite extensive efforts, the school transport team is having some challenges in securing transport on some bus routes in a number of locations. This has been communicated to the families affected and is due to operational challenges and market shortages in the bus/driver industry. This bus service is not cancelled, and the local school transport team is continuing to engage with local bus operators to try and secure a transport solution.

"Bus Éireann sincerely apologise to the families affected for the inconvenience caused by the delay in resuming this service and appreciate their patience and understanding. We are very disappointed about the situation and understand the impact it is having on the local families who depend on our services daily.

"The local school transport team will continue to engage with the families involved and an update will be provided to families once school transport becomes available.

"Bus Éireann has a dedicated call centre available at 0818 919 910 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), or families can use the contact form on our website."

Full details of the school transport scheme is available on the Department of Education and Youth’s website www.gov.ie/schooltransport