• Extra school services running in partnership with local authorities

• Duplicates buses providing additional capacity for pupils and students returning to schools and college

• Enhanced measures in place to ensure customer confidence

• Passengers can buy tickets in advance online or use contactless or exact fare only on board

Stagecoach has issued guidance on school and college bus services in South Wales to support pupils and students safely returning to school and college in September.

Working with the Welsh government and the Local Authorities in South East Wales, Stagecoach will be providing a further 50 extra dedicated buses for schools and colleges providing additional passenger capacity for pupils and students from 1st September. Timetables and details of these additional dedicated journeys are available on the Stagecoach website, Traveline Cymru and on the Stagecoach Wales Twitter profile.

Duplicate bus services will be clearly marked as school services on the destination screen. In most cases, there will be a ‘9’ in front of the service number and the destination so passengers can tell the difference between the normal service bus and the duplicate school bus. An example below

NANTGARW COLLEGE 932

SCHOOLDAYS ONLY

Dedicated School transport is not covered by the current face covering rules on public transport, as it presents a lower risk of spreading the virus than transport that is open to the general public. However, it’s up to the local council and the school to decide whether pupils over the age of 11 should wear a face covering on school transport.  If you have any queries, please contact the school or your local council.

A child or young person aged 11 or over who is travelling on ordinary public transport will need to wear a face covering unless they were exempt. Journey assistance cards are available on the Stagecoach website for those who need to apply for an exemption card. For more information, see guidance here www.trc.cymru/face-coverings.

Customers not travelling for school, college or work, are advised to try and avoid school and peak travel times. All customers are encouraged to buy tickets in advance online through the Stagecoach app and to use contactless payments or exact fare only on Stagecoach buses in South Wales to reduce cash handling. All surplus change is being donated to the NHS Charities Together Appeal.

Nigel Winter, Managing Director for Stagecoach in South Wales, said: “We want to make sure that as pupils return to school and college and more people start to get to work, they can be confident about their journey with us.

“We’ve worked closely with the Welsh Government and local authorities to put a number of additional measures in place to make bus travel safe for our passengers.

“Stagecoach continues to meet Welsh Government and industry Covid-19 guidelines and has put processes in place to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing. The comprehensive regime includes daily deep cleans and hand sanistiser on all Stagecoach buses in South Wales. With everybody playing their part and following the rules on wearing face coverings and hygiene, people can continue to travel to work, school and college by bus safely and confidently.”

Nigel added: “A “busy bus” feature is also now available on the app that uses extensive data and artificial intelligence to provide a traffic light indicator to help customers plan their journeys.”

To see Stagecoach’s video on Safe Travel, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbvu5nuuF9Y