A project to improve school transport services across South West Wales has won a national award.
The scheme is being run by SWWITCH (South West Wales Intergrated Transport Consortium) which comprises the four local authorities of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.
More than 6,000 pupils use school transport in Pembrokeshire every day, travelling on 250 routes. It costs the Council £4.9 million a year to provide the service which is largely contracted out to Pembrokeshire-based transport operators.
The project began in June 2008 and a range of measures have already been implemented include training pupils and fitting CCTV to buses.
To date, around 12,500 students have undergone the training programme developed for all pupils who use school transport in the SWWITCH area.
They include secondary pupils from Milford Haven School, Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych and Sir Thomas Picton School, Haverfordwest, as well as some Year Six primary pupils.
In Pembrokeshire CCTV has been fitted onto 32 buses as part of a pilot project. It not only acts as a deterrent to any bad behaviour but is also used as evidence in case sanctions are needed.
Meanwhile a training course specifically for drivers that work on school transport is currently being developed and will be rolled out shortly.
“These measures are helping to improve school transport provision for our pupils and also creating a better travel experience for them” said Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and Planning and SWWITCH representative, Jamie Adams.
The Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport (CILT) Cymru Award for Excellence in Training and Development of People was presented to SWWITCH by former First Minister Rhodri Morgan.
