Athlone students’ voices were ‘not listened to’ on bus pick-up change

The Junior Mayor in Athlone Community College has said students' voices were not listened to by Bus Éireann when it made its decision to change the collection point for buses serving three secondary schools from next week.

The bus pick up point for students from the Community College, Marist College and Our Lady's Bower is scheduled to move to the Athlone Town Stadium carpark from Monday next, November 6.

Bus Éireann said it's making the change because of concerns about the safety of the present pick up location on Retreat Road.

Junior Mayor Ryan Dolan, of Athlone Community College, contacted the Westmeath Independent last week after he and other members of the school's student council conducted a survey of students about the planned change from October 9-19.

A total of 248 students in Athlone Community College completed the survey, with 92% of respondents stating they were "against changing the location" of the bus collections.

The student council in Athlone Community College said it decided to conduct the survey in order to uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states: "Young people have the right to say what they think about anything that affects them. What they say must be listened to carefully.

"When decisions are made which affect young people, by official bodies, they must listen to what the young people want and feel."

Commenting on the survey, Ryan said, "I think it's important that the student voice is upheld. On this issue, we haven't been listened to by Bus Éireann at all.

"They might say there was consultation on this before, when it was previously proposed in 2020, but that was before I was in the school and I'm in fifth year now! We have since gone through Covid, and a lot of things have happened.

"Everybody needs to have a say on this and I think now would be a good time to open up a broader discussion about easing traffic congestion in the area for the longer term as well."

On foot of its survey, the Athlone Community College student council prepared a 24-page 'Bus Éireann School Bus Consultation Report' which outlines the background to the issue and lists in detail the findings of the survey.

The report states that the planned change to the bus collection point was raised with student council for the first time after an article about it appeared in the Westmeath Independent on October 4.

"The student council then took steps to consult with students in Athlone Community College, as well as contacting and advising our regional representative from the Irish Second Level Students Union. We also reached out to colleagues in the other two schools," said the report.

Some 36% of the students who responded to the survey in Athlone Community College said they relied on a bus to get to and from school.

The report also included a detailed list of suggestions from students on how to address the current traffic congestion on the Retreat Road.

These included proposals around giving buses more priority and giving less priority to private cars.

There were also suggestions about varying the start times and finishing times of the three secondary schools, among other ideas.

In a statement last week, Bus Éireann said the change to the collection location would be going ahead on November 6.

A company spokesperson said it had been "actively monitoring" the location of its secondary school bus collections in Athlone over "a number of months".

"Safety is a key priority, and we continually work towards ensuring the risk to pupils is minimised in all aspects of our school transport operation. It is incumbent on Bus Éireann to ensure pupils are safe when boarding and alighting our services."

The spokesperson added that Bus Éireann would be on site for a number of days next week "to ensure a smooth transition" to the use of the new collection point.

"We have been and will continue to liaise with school principals in the area, parents' association and local councillors regarding the new pick-up point.

"We have engaged with Westmeath County Council and An Garda Síochána who have advised they will be providing any assistance required," the Bus Éireann statement concluded.