School Buses
Through our First Student operations in the UK we are pioneering a new approach to school travel. First Student not only provides vehicles to transport children to school, but also supplies a complete travel package designed with child safety as its first priority.
Unlike in the US, the UK government does not set standards for school bus design. Our buses are designed to the highest safety standards. All our drivers are specifically trained to work with children and have passed stringent background checks. Vehicle safety features include padded seating, three-point integrated seat belts, additional escape hatches, CCTV and a dedicated hotline for parents.
Through the school bus programme we are also working with schools to reduce bullying and truancy. All our drivers are trained to look for potential bullying problems and to act appropriately if they suspect bullying. As we know who should be getting on our buses at each stop we can follow up the whereabouts of a missing child. We provide a morning and afternoon register to the schools we serve after each run. We will soon be looking to pilot smart card technology which can be linked directly into school register systems. This early warning system impacts greatly on truancy rates and delivers peace of mind.
Since 2000 we have successfully introduced 13 Yellow School Bus schemes across the UK. We now transport over 8,000 students daily.
In a recent customer survey we received an overall customer satisfaction rating of 98%.
- 96% of our customers feel safer using the First Student school bus service compared with other modes of transport.
- 94% of our customers would recommend the First Student service to others.
- 12% of our customers would not be able to attend their chosen school were it not for the unique way the First Student service is run.
With the continued rise in the use of the family car for the school run (24% of peak time congestion), these services contribute to a significant reduction in congestion, offering associated environmental and health benefits to the local community.
We are actively involved in the UK with industry bodies, government departments and independent policy makers to promote the benefits of a high-quality, safe and secure school transport and to expand our business across the UK.