THE BUS

• The buses are American-style, designed specifically for the safe movement of students, and are only used for school transport and educational trips.
• They each have 60 high-back seats, all with an integral lap belt.
• The passenger compartment is on a rigid steel chassis above the point of impact of most accidents.
• Students are protected by an all-steel body and safety cage with roll-over bars.
• Each bus is fitted with an environmentally friendly Euro 3 engine running on low sulphur diesel.
• There is a guaranteed seat for all students who are registered for the service no standing is permitted on the buses.
• Buses are dedicated to individual schools, which promotes ownership by the students, and prevents conflict between different bus users.

DEDICATED DRIVERS

• First Group aims to provide the same driver on the same bus every day, so that the students and driver get to know and trust each other, to create a friendly but ordered environment on board.
• A register of the students travelling on each bus is taken regularly by the drivers, particularly at the beginning of the school year, while he/she is getting to know the students on board.
• Some of the Runnymede drivers are parents of students who already use the Yellow Bus service.
• Drivers are of course fully trained and licensed to drive a public service vehicle. They are also police vetted, and receive additional training in customer care, first aid, safety, security and student behaviour and receive further refresher training at the start of each school year.

SAFETY TRAINING

• First Group provides safety and evacuation training to the students using the bus so that they know what to do in an emergency.

ROUTES

• The bus routes and timings are planned in consultation with First Group, and are designed around pick-up points (many of which are existing bus stops) located within around 300m of a student's home address.
• Students are dropped off either within the school grounds, or at the school gates, depending on the school's individual arrangements.
• At present, the buses only operate within the Borough of Runnymede.

AT SCHOOL

• For students who arrive before 8:00 a.m. some schools provide either a supervised breakfast club, or rooms for working and waiting until the school day starts.
• Students attending after-school activities can use later buses.