AQW 15077/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 16/09/2024
Answered On Date: 24/09/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 13268/22-27, for an update on the creation of a more sustainable model of school transport.

Answer:

My Department continues to work with the Education Authority (EA) on developing the SMART transport project which aims to digitise certain transport management functions such as route planning and which will involve installing vehicle telematics and other digital solutions that will enable the EA to have visibility of all services travelling to a school.

This should enable a more strategic approach to be taken with regards to route planning and the optimisation of the school transport network, thereby delivering efficiencies. The ability to monitor pupils boarding and the tracking of vehicles’ progress in real time will also offer benefits in terms of increased safeguarding of pupils on school transport and will enable schools and parents to be better informed about their children’s journey.

The EA has also been piloting the use of a smaller seven-seater vehicle within its fleet since May 2024. Whilst it is too early to make a full assessment, the EA informs me that this pilot and the use of a smaller vehicle is proving to be promising, affording some flexibility within its fleet and has delivered financial savings.

It has enabled the EA to deliver stable provision for several pupils with additional transport requirements for whom there had been difficulty in securing suitable taxi transport which had resulted in disruption to their transport to school. EA transport has advised that it has been utilising this vehicle since the start of term to provide regular transport for pupils which has directly replaced the need for two taxis and has freed up further capacity on other larger EA vehicles.