Pupils at the Toynbee Secondary School at Chandlers Ford have joined us, Wilts & Dorset, and members of Hampshire County Council to launch a new initiative to encourage more students to catch the bus, not the car, to get to and from school.
BusIT aims to encourage greater bus use for school journeys by making better information available, changing times or routes to better suit pupils, providing extra seats where needed and adding later journeys for after school clubs.
Pupils from Toynbee School and PA to Head teacher Janette Hobbs with (from top left) Cllr Ken Thornber, Alex Hornby, Hampshire County Council’s Peter Shelley and Keith Wilcox and Wilts & Dorset’s Steve Bower.
At the heart of the scheme is the BusIT card which allows pupils at participating schools to travel to and from school for just £1 a day, including a change of bus if needed. BusIT comes in a pack with discount vouchers for bus users, personalised timetables and links to the BusIT website – which offers a computerised journey planner and a wealth of information on healthy lifestyles, travel choices and road safety.
Cllr Thornber, Leader of Hampshire County Council said: “The BusIT card offers a cheaper, more convenient way to travel to school by bus. The aim of the project is to open up the service to pupils not entitled to free school travel for a small cost, to encourage greater use of the services.
“So far the County Council has issued over 1,700 BusIT packs and over a thousand journeys a week are being made by schoolchildren using BusIT. It’s a safe and eco-friendly way of delivering our children to their schools.
“We’re already investigating further opportunities to better cater for the extended school day, including after school activities and breakfast or homework clubs. I hope these pilot schemes prove to be a success, that can be rolled out elsewhere across the county.”
A series of pilot schools have been selected in the Eastleigh and Waterside areas, based on a study of congestion, travel distances and catchment areas. Alex Hornby, Operations Manager at Solent Blue Line said that both his company and Wilts & Dorset were in full support of the new scheme.
“We are determined to do all we can to get young people used to catching the bus and get out of the hop-in–the-car habit which adds to congestion and pollution, as well as being time consuming for parents each day,” said Alex Hornby. “Walking to catch the bus also provides exercise and gives the student greater independence.”
Crestwood College, Thornden School, St Swithun Wells & The Toynbee School are the first schools in the Eastleigh area to take part, while in the Waterside, Applemore College and Noadswood School are involved.
For more information about BusIT please visit www.hants.gov.uk/passengertransport and select the BusIT link