AIBU, DS forced to stand on the bus?

[TheFlandersPigeonMurderer]

First day back to school today and lo and behold, we have a new bus service.
To cut a long and boring story short, instead of two buses going on different routes from A to B, now there's one bus with a smaller minibus scooping up the odd few DC's from the outlying farms etc. This would make sense if the bus had capacity for all the children who need to use it. Today DS said there was only a handful of seats left (we're now almost the last stop) and the middle years at school don't return till tomorrow.
AIBU to think that all the children should have a seat?
Having grown up in London I'm no stranger to having to stand on buses, trains and tubes but this bus travels along windy country lanes (sections of which are national speed limit) before having to cross the main A road through the town. As a one off I guess it's unavoidable, on a daily basis I'm not sure if I'm being precious?

Any bus that travels above 30 should not have children standing. At all.

It is free, so unless they are exceeding maximum capacity there's not a lot you can do. I used to pay £300 a year for my SS's bus pass, he had to stand every day and usually got pelted with any old shite left in the older kids lunch boxes on the way home.

Really Enko? On a coach???

I appreciate the OP title is misleading but if you RTFT OP says it is a coach, not a bus. Different regulations apply.

Yanbu. Back when I was at school (late 90s) this happened on my school bus every day. Until one mum contacted the school (or council, not sure) to complain about the danger of standing, and after that, something was changed because I never saw anyone standing again. I was politely make some enquiries with the school and explain your concerns. Why do we bother having car seats for young children when as soon as they are teenagers we're happy for them to be flung around a bus down an A Road?

By law a coach can only have so many passengers (stated in the bus as the amount changes by size)

If I remember correctly coaches are subject to the seatbelt laws too so that would mean no standing wouldn't it?

Is it possible that not everyone on the bus is actually registered to travel. In our area, we are entitled to free transport but you still have to apply ages in advance so is it possible some new students haven't registered in time but here they don't actually check passes ( or even get passes before the start of term) so it is entirely possible for there to be some confusion or inaccuracies in numbers which will be rectified over the next week or so.

Had the same issue last year with my DS's school bus which was a double decker travelling on a rural A road and regularly getting up to quite high speeds.
He was U6th and we had to pay £500 for the privilege too!!!

Didn't get anywhere with my complaint but my DS started catching the bus from an earlier stop, so he could get a seat.

That could possibly be the case amelia, lots of DC's don't yet have their passes (in a rare demonstration of efficiency DS actually does!)
I would be very surprised if there are two buses tomorrow. There used to be two coaches on different routes from A-B, each one half to three quarters full. One coach has been stopped (that timetable is no longer visible) and a minibus is picking up the children from outlying pick ups. Putting two buses on tomorrow would mean there are three vehicles on the road instead of two.

Joanne, if OP's son were killed or seriously injured in a crash when that bus is travelling at the national speed limit, would you still be calling him a poor little snowflake?

Thank god joannegrady happened along. She's got the point of my thread completely, whereas the rest of you are chirruping on about safety, crashes, legislation etc

Wow joannegrady90 you seem very put out by OP's concerns.

Of course it is unreasonable to have kids standing on a rural coach service (and must surely be illegal). While yes. the might not do 60 all the way, I've certainly seen them bombing around the roads. In fact I often come across one barrelling around a sharp bend straddling both sides of the road.

Did everyone have to pre-book seats on the bus?

It's extraordinary that anyone is suggesting that expecting the coach providers to comply with the law is in some way precious. Do you feel the same way about seat belts in cars, safety regulations around baby and play equipment, food safety requirements etc?

You're being precious. He'll be fine!

I grew up rurally, one of our school buses was involved in a crash. Two pupils ended up in ICU, one had facial scarring from being thrown head first through a window.

Children should be seated and with a seatbelt on when in a vehicle on the road. I don't let mine dance round the back seat, even if we're only driving from on me village to the next.

Do some people just come on threads to be nasty?

Nothing "snowflake" about reasonable safety concerns. I would not be happy with dd standing on a bus on rural roads.

Joannegady90 Have you seen the size of some 6th formers? Huge. And seen the tiny Yr7s? Imagine one of them being crushed by a hulking great 6' lad being propelled down the bus...

That's 'being precious' is it? Right. You may find this odd to comprehend, but children have a right to be transported in safety.

As someone who travelled by council-provided coach to school via rural roads for ten years, I can't imagine a situation where any pupil would have had to stand for any of the journey - it wouldn't have been allowed.

I think those who say wait and see what happens when all back are correct - you never know what might turn up - but you would be reasonable to complain if, going forward, there are not enough seats for each pupil.

I'm with migraleve. It hasnt happened.

Luckily I work nights so will be home in the morning to survey proceedings

EezerGoode I am so sorry to hear this.

Enko does your son go on a bus in a rural area? If so, maybe you should look into the situation, various references on this thread have suggested it isn't a laughing matter.

Migraleve it's OK not to be worried about the OP's son's bus journey. But I think the OP is right to feel a little concerned about it.

Please OP let us know how things do work out.

It is astonishing in this day and age, with health and safety laws as stringent as they are, that bus companies can transport children in such an unsafe way. Just because something is allowed, it doesn't make it right.It is also astonishing that some people feel the need to be so horrible to the OP and each other.

joannegrady if you are working to end world hunger, you have my admiration.

Did you read the thread recently about the poster who's hired motor home didn't have enough forward facing seats with belts? The thread was pretty unanimous that she was NBU is not wanting to travel in it.

I would not be happy at all about my children travelling in restrained in any vehicle. Yanbu at all to be unhappy about it.

Speaking as someone who lives in a rural area where a few years back a coach of primary kids crashed (overturned on a wide open busy A road due to an oncoming vehicle on the wrong side of the road) resulting in two children sadly losing their lives, no, you are definitely NOT being unreasonable!!

Caught the bus today. On the journey I used satnav to record the speed. It's not totally accurate.

So on normal small country roads it averaged about 40 mph, getting down to 25 mph in the villages.

On the big A road, 50 mph. There is no way I could have stood on that bus. I was flung around in my seat enough as it was.