Schools :: Press Releases

25 June 2008 by zacgoldsmith.com

Zac Goldsmith launches online School Bus Campaign

Zac Goldsmith launched a campaign with a London comprehensive school on Friction.tv, demanding a dedicated school bus service for its pupils.

You can watch the video at the bottom of this page.

The campaign came about after a survey revealed that pupils at Shene School were frequently late as a result of a lack of buses during rush hour.

To raise awareness about the campaign, a group of pupils from the school teamed up with film makers from Friction.tv.

Amine Turay, a year eight pupil who features in the film explained why he got involved: "A school bus will be easier for every student because the bus will go straight to school and will always be reliable and on time so we do not miss any of our education... The buses are very small and there are about 45 school kids trying to squeeze on to one tiny bus at a time".

Zac Goldsmith commented, "TFL maintain that capacity on buses 'remains adequately matched to demand'. I think people will be able to see from the film that this just isn't true. On the back of its survey, the school has estimated that around 15,000 hours of Shene pupils education was lost last year due to poor service from TFL. It is unacceptable that something as simple as a lack of buses is having such a detrimental effect on these young people's education". He added:

"Dedicated school buses bring huge benefits. Nearly a fifth of all traffic on UK roads in the morning is accounted for by the school run. In North America, a country associated with car-worship, more than half of all children travel to school by bus. A similar programme in London would dramatically cut pollution and congestion, as well as benefiting busy parents."

Headteacher, Lesley Kirby, said: "Our school is probably unique in that 80% of its pupils are not local. The sheer number means that litter, noise, crowded pavements and general inconvenience are experienced by local residents, not because our children are so badly behaved, but because approximately 750 need to take a bus at the same time each evening. The pupils also suffer, through long waits, and regular lateness. They deserve much better."

To find out more about the campaign watch the film here