Transport operators preparing for the return of Wakefield students

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been working with local councils and transport operators to ensure students can travel safely and observe social distancing when schools and colleges reopen in September.
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While current government guidelines state that no social distancing will be needed on dedicated school buses, pupils who use regular bus services will need to maintain social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Normally in West Yorkshire around 20,000 children and young people use the public transport network to travel to school every day.

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Funding has now been made available by the Department for Education to help provide additional services to meet the demand expected in September.

Councillor Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport CommitteeCouncillor Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee
Councillor Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee

Councillor Kim Groves, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: "Getting students safely and successfully back on public transport for schools returning in September is going to be crucial, so the information provided by parents has been really valuable in helping us identify where we may need to provide additional bus services to help ensure the network is resilient as possible.

“While there are some changes on board, we want to pupils and young people to feel confident using public transport when they return to school and colleges in September.

“To help reassure passengers, extra cleaning is being carried out across all bus stations, interchanges and shelters in West Yorkshire. This includes extra attention to ensure touch points are regularly cleaned and remain disinfected. Bus and rail operators have stepped up their cleaning regimes and introduced new technology to ensure vehicles are as clean and safe as possible for customers.”

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Extra school buses may be provided at schools with a heavy reliance on the public transport network.

However, this will not apply at every school. In most cases, children and young people who are not able to walk or cycle to school will be able to travel on public transport as normal.

To help inform where additional buses may be required, the Combined Authority carried out an online survey to understand how children are planning to travel to school, with over 5,000 parents taking part.

Overall, there was only a slight difference in how children were planning to travel pre-COVID-19 and now, with only four per cent switching how they travel to school.

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When schools reopen in full in September, dedicated school buses will resume as before, with a small number of refinements.

A full list of services and timetable information has been made available to schools and on the www.wymetro.com/schools website.

Those travelling on the network will need to be aware of the following:

Face coverings are required for children aged 11 and above, unless exempted for medical or other reasons. Where this is the case, assistance cards can be downloaded from the Metro website here and can be printed out to show to public transport staff or simply shown to staff on your mobile phone

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Normal fares will apply with students being asked to pay using an MCard or app where possible

Walk or cycle to school if possible

When travelling in a car, consider parking a few streets away and walking the short distance

Do not travel if you or any member your household is displaying any COVID-19 symptoms