8th October 2009

Ham & High: The school bus idea is to be commended

As your article (Parent power solved school run chaos, H&H letters October 1) points out, schools buses could help encourage parents to consider other ways of getting to school than by car.

This would complement the work which Camden already does in improving the safety and convenience of walking, cyling and using public transport to make journeys to and from school.

We know school run congestion continues to be a major issue - particularly in Hampstead's Fitzjohn's Avenue - and Camden Council has an important role to play in reducing this problem.

We are currently looking at different ways the council could help but I would like to make clear what these options are and assure residents that we will be consulting with them before making the final decisions.

The first option we are exploring is making relatively minor changes to parking near the schools involved to allow school buses to drop off and pick up children.

These changes would be useful regardless of which transport company might provide the bus services. We will be holding a consultation on these changes in November.

We are also considering whether the council's own transport provider, Camben Transport Services, could run the school bus service. This would be on an entirely commercial basis, and there would be no council subsidy involved.

Residents, parents and schools will play a meaningful role in deciding how best these ideas could work. We'll be talking to them and listening to their views before any changes are put into place.

Both decisions are expected to be taken on 1 December by the council's executive (environment) sub committee.

Parents, schools, and the council must work in partnership to achieve everyone's objective - reduce congestion, reduce impact on the environment and make our streets safer.

CLLR CHRIS KNIGHT
Executive member of environment
Camden Council