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Getting to SchoolYour Guide to School Transport in Fife

ForewordWe put the highest priority on the safety of school pupils. To this end, we aim toprovide a seat for every entitled pupil and we deal with reputable operators.However, safety can be endangered by the irresponsible behaviour of aminority of pupils and the Council therefore asks for your co-operation toensure that everyone who travels to school by bus has a safe and pleasantjourney.Kenneth GreerExecutive Director (Education)2

INFORMATION FOR PUPILSContents – for you• Your bus rules• Your behaviour on the bus• Your travel passINFORMATION FOR PARENTSContents – for the adults• Who is responsible for behaviour on school buses• Safety on school transport• How to use the school travel pass/myfife card• Who is entitled to free school transport• Is my child entitled to free transport• What if my child is not entitled to free school transport• Discounted Fares for School Travel• Young persons concession scheme• What if my child doesn’t go to their catchment area school• Further information3

TRAVELLING ON THE BUSSHOW YOUR PASS OR PAY YOUR FAREFIND A SEAT, SIT DOWN AND REMAIN IN YOUR SEAT UNTIL YOUR STOP.WEAR YOUR SEATBELT IF ONE IS FITTED.DON’T DISTRACT THE DRIVER UNLESS IT IS AN EMERGENCY.DON’T PLAY WITH THE EMERGENCY DOORS OR THE BELLS.DON’T THROW THINGS AROUND THE BUS AS THIS COULD DISTRACT THEDRIVER.DON’T LEAVE ANY LITTER ON THE BUS.GETTING OFF THE BUSDON’T RUSH TO GET OFF THE BUS.WAIT UNTIL THE BUS HAS STOPPED COMPLETELY.ONCE OFF THE BUS, MOVE AWAY FROM THE KERB AND THE ROAD.IF YOU NEED TO CROSS THE ROAD WAIT UNTIL THE BUS HAS MOVED AWAYBEFORE DOING SO.5

IMPORTANT INFORMATION“High School Transport entitlement is now included on your myfifecard. Primary School pupils entitled to school transport will continue tobe issued with a Fife Council travel pass”Your behaviour on the busYou MUST BEHAVE on the school bus and STAY SAFE. There areCAMERAS on the school buses so anyone who does not behave willget caught. Please tell an adult if anyone is not behaving on the bus.You should be polite to the bus driver it is their job to help you stay safeon the bus. Smoking on the bus is NOT ALLOWED because it is againstthe law. If you are found smoking your parents may be called in toschool for an interview with senior staffand your entitlement to travel on theschool bus may be suspended.Please rememberIf your bus breaks down you shouldfollow the advice of the driver and waitfor a replacement vehicle. If your busdoesn’t arrive on time please wait as abus will arrive. The bus may havebroken down but a replacement bus willbe put on as soon as possible.6

Your travel pass (High School pupils only)Is now part of your myfife card and MUST be produced each time youboard the bus. If you are entitled to free school transport your myfifecard will have a coloured circle on it. You and your friends may havedifferent coloured circles on your card, they represent the bus youshould use and it is important that you travel on the correct bus. Wecannot change the colour on your pass to allow you to travel with yourfriends. The card is valid for one journey to school and one journeyhome from school. Please take care of your card because if you lose it,or spoil it, it will cost you £5 for another one. It is up to you to ask at theschool office for a travel slip if you do not have your pass to travel homefrom school. If you are not getting the school bus home because youare going to an after school class you must get a supplementaryvoucher from the school office to permit after school travel home. Youwill be expected to pay a fare if you do not produce a supplementaryvoucher and a valid myfife card with a coloured transport circle.Your travel pass (Primary pupils only)You should show your travel pass to the driver every time you get on thebus and please take care of your travel pass because if you lose it, orspoil it, it will cost you £5 for another one. Payment should be made tothe school office who will issue a temporary bus pass and will order anew travel pass from Transportation.For more information on myfife, visit www.fifedirect.org.uk/myfifeemail myfife.card@fife.gov.uk or call 08451 550066.7

INFORMATION FOR PARENTSWho is responsible for behaviour on school buses?Parents – have the ultimate responsibility for the behaviour of theirchildren on school buses. Parents are also responsible for gettingtheir children to and from school transport. This can be at the nearestbus stop or if you live in a rural area such as a farm, the road end. Anymisbehaviour, such as vandalism or smoking will lead to sanctionsthat may include exclusion from school transport for a period of timeor even permanently. Parents would then have the responsibility ofensuring that their children continue to attend school. Operators maypursue parents for repair costs in the event of any vandalism to avehicle caused by their children and may report such incidents directlyto the Police.School – incidents of pupil misbehaviour should be reported to theschool staff who will investigate and take appropriate action with thefull support of the Council. Travel entitlement can be withdrawn by theschool. Parents may be required to come to school to discuss theirchild’s behaviour.Operators – are responsible for the safety of passengers andreporting incidents of misbehaviour to the school. Drivers areprofessional people who are entitled to carry out their duties in a safeworking environment. Many vehicles have CCTV on board whichassists with identifying pupils who misbehave.8

Safety on school transportThe transport we provide ranges from double deck buses to taxis andthe safety of pupils is our top priority. Our aim is to provide a seat foreach pupil entitled to free transport.Seatbelts are provided in all vehicles up to minibus size and in coacheswhere required by law. When seatbelts are provided in a vehicle theymust be used. All vehicles are regularly checked for roadworthiness bythe appropriate agency, but we also arrange additional independentchecks on vehicles. We encourage operators to replace vehicles withseat-belted vehicles where possible when updating their fleet.If the bus does not arrive at its scheduled time in the morning pleaseadvise your child to wait, as a bus will arrive. If the bus breaks downpupils should follow the driver’s advice.All drivers undergo criminal record checks.10

How to use the school travel pass/myfife cardThe travel pass is now part of the myfife card for High School pupils;Primary School pupils still receive a travel pass. Pupils must show theirmyfife card/travel pass when boarding the vehicle both morning andafternoon. If your child is entitled to free school travel with a myfife card acoloured circle is included on the card. Cards/passes remain the propertyof the Council and must be produced on demand to the driver orrepresentatives of the Council. If the card/pass is lost, damaged or stolenplease report this to the school immediately. A charge of £5 will be madefor each replacement card/pass issued. Payment should be made at theschool office where a temporary bus pass will be issued and areplacement myfife card/travel pass ordered. It is the responsibility ofpupils, not the school or the Council, to ensure that they carry their myfifecard/travel pass with them and to report lost cards/passes to the schooloffice promptly.11

How to use the school travel pass/myfife card cont.....Bus routes are colour coded to avoid overcrowding and it is essential thatpupils travelling on these routes use the correct bus. The colour of travelon your child’s myfife card depends on the address and may notnecessarily be the choice your child would make as they may want totravel with their friends. I am sorry this is impossible to administer and thatis why we allocate pupils to buses by address. If your child is experiencingbullying or other behavioural issues on the bus please report this to schoolguidance who may recommend a colour change following anassessment.If your child requires to travel to/from school outwith normal school timesthey should enquire at the school office about vouchers, which will enablethem to do so. They will be expected to pay a fare if they don’t have asupplementary voucher and a valid myfife card with a coloured transportcircle.For more information on myfife, visit www.fifedirect.org.uk/myfifeemail myfife.card@fife.gov.uk or call 08451 550066.12

Who is entitled to free transportThe law says free transport should be provided for pupils undereight living more than two miles from school, and pupils age eightand above living more than three miles from their catchment areaschool.However, here in Fife, we go considerably further by providing freetransport for all primary pupils living more than one mile and allsecondary pupils living more than two miles from their catchmentarea school.13

Is my child entitled to free school transport?If your child lives more than a mile from their catchment primaryschool or more than two miles from their catchment high schoolthey are entitled to free school transport. Fife Council use a GISmapping system to determine the shortest reasonable walkingroute to measure from the entrance to your property to the nearestschool entrance. It is assumed that each parent/carer willaccompany their child until such time as they deem their child to beresponsible enough to walk on their own.Your child’s details are passed on to us from the school and wedetermine entitlement by your address etc. Every year during theschool summer holidays we send details of transportarrangements to pupils who are starting high school and to allprimary school pupils who are entitled to free travel, including atimetable and myfife card/travel pass where relevant. Pupils whocurrently have a myfife card should retain their current card andtravel by the same route and bus after the summer holidays.Your entitlement to free school transport will be indicated on yourmyfife card, see examples below:High School EntitledHigh School Not Entitled14

What if my child is not entitled to free transport?If your child is not entitled to free school transport they can still use theschool bus. Most school buses are registered as local services andtherefore anyone can get on the bus and pay a fare to the driver. FifeCouncil provides this opportunity to encourage pupils to travel toschool by bus in order to relieve traffic congestion outside schools.If your child lives more than one mile but is less than two miles fromtheir catchment area high school and is under 14 he/she will beeligible for a ‘Scholar’s Discount Ticket’. Fife Council determines who isentitled to the discount and sends a letter to your home addressbefore the start of the new school year in August. The discount entitlesyou to a saving of one third of the cost of a four-weekly or term timeseason ticket up until the pupils 14th birthday. Parents should take theletter, together with proof of the child’s identity to the office of theoperator (or their agent) of their choice each time they wish to buy adiscounted season ticket. You can purchase a discounted seasonticket for any number of days up to a whole term ticket using thediscount letter. Please note, if you lose the letter there will be areplacement charge of £5 (Aug 09). The operator will only accept acurrent valid discount letter issued from Fife Council.If you have any queries regarding this discount scheme contact ourSchool Transport Helpline on: 08451 555555 ext 44444015

Students under 16 years of ageIf your child is at high school and aged up to16 he/she can travel toand from school by bus at half the adult single fare. A range of daily,weekly, 4 weekly and term tickets are available from relevantoperators.Students 16 to 18 years of ageFife Council’s Young Persons Travel CardStudents, 16 to 18 years of age, in full time education are entitled toapply for this scheme. This scheme offers half fare travel (half an adultsingle fare) by bus and rail to and from school. Application forms areavailable from the school or by phoning 01592 583370. Moreinformation about this Fife Council Scheme is available onwww.fifedirect.org.ukNational Entitlement CardStudents aged 16 to 18 are entitled to hold a National Entitlement Cardwhich offers them a third off Scotland-wide bus and rail travel; seeexample below. If your child holds a myfife card and has consented toshare their information, then this card and rail voucher will be sent outautomatically. If your child has previously not consented to shareinformation but would now like this card and voucher then theyshould ask at school how they can apply. More information about thisNational Scheme is available on www.givememycard.orgNational entitlement card16

What if my child doesn’t go to the catchment area school?We don’t provide assistance to:• Pupils attending non-catchment schools at their parents’ requestHowever, if you feel there are exceptional circumstances and you wish to applyfor assistance for your child please write to:Kenneth GreerExecutive Director (Education)Rothesay HouseRothesay PlaceGLENROTHESKY7 5PQ17

Further InformationSchool bus timetables are now available on FifeDirect go towww.fifedirect.org.uk search for your school, the timetables are inpublications on the left hand side of the page.For latest news, school closures and travel information go towww.fifedirect.org.uk/wintercentre. It is now possible to register for text/email alerts for school closures on this website.For public transport information call Traveline on 0871 200 2233Fife Councils emergency contact telephone number is 08451 55000018

If a pupil leaves anything on the school transport it is their responsibility torecover it from the operator. For fares and lost property informationplease contact the relevant operator below:Moffatt and Williamson01382 541159 Gauldry01592 774785 GlenrothesRennies of Dunfermline 01383 620600Stagecoach in Fife01383 627542 for Dunfermline area01592 757378 for Glenrothes area01383 515981 for Cowdenbeath area01334 474238 for St Andrews area01333 426038 for Aberhill area01333 424251 for Leven Bus Station01592 265412 for Kirkcaldy Bus Station19

For all other general enquiries about school transport in the first instanceduring term time enquire at the school office otherwise call the schooltransport helpline on 08451 555555 ext 444440To obtain details on schools and catchment areas visit:www.fifedirect.org.uk/learningOr if you require information on travelling to school visitwww.fifedirect.org.uk/schooltravelplansIf you’d like more information about behaviour on school transport call08451 555555 ext 444220For more information about the overall management and operation ofschool transport call08451 555555 ext 44443320