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Yellow Buses - a golden opportunity

The Government is facing calls for the nationwide introduction of yellow school buses in a bid to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by 'the school run' (Surveyor 23 June).

A new report No More School Run, by the educational charity Sutton Trust, argues that politicians should act on the positive results of yellow bus pilots and include plans for a national network in the forthcoming Education Bill. It says that start-up costs would be justified by the cutting of school-run traffic, which leads to as many as 40 deaths and 900 serious injuries each year.

"The Boston Consulting Group estimates a yellow bus scheme for primary school pupils would deliver benefits of around £458m a year - a return of 2.5 times the annual £184m cost," said Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust.

The report, launched with a yellow bus outside the Houses of Parliament recently, also says pilots in areas such as West Yorkshire have reduced school gate congestion by between 15 and 60 per cent.

For the full report visit: http://www.suttontrust.com/reports/NoMoreSchoolRunFinalReport.pdf