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Yellow school buses backed for Britain

12/09/2008

Britain's children should use yellow school buses to get to and from school, an independent report tells the government today.

An independent review of school transport chaired by former home secretary David Blunkett makes the conclusion after a year of investigating the potential for yellow school buses.

It says the number of children travelling to school by car has doubled in the last 20 years, creating local traffic congestion and unnecessarily heightening car use during the school run.

Rolling out yellow buses would "offer children and parents a safe and attractive option for commuting to and from school", the Yellow School Bus Commission's report says.

Mr Blunkett said both local and central government could move forward on his recommendations immediately.

"This is a forward-looking, realistic and highly relevant contribution to the debate not simply about transport, but about energy use, climate change and the sensible use and conservation of resources," he said.

"This is about broad and highly relevant political issues as well as, crucially, the education, safety and security of our children.

"We are proposing a long-term programme which could revolutionise the way we do the 'school run'. But this is not just about the length of time parents spend getting their children to school; it is also about the impact this has on both society and business and enterprise, as well as key issues of energy conservation and climate change."

A Department of Transport spokesperson said: "Ministers will consider the recommendations contained in the report, the value for money aspects of these and their wider implications so that they are in a position to provide a serious response to a serious piece of work."