Some 60 per cent of Galway secondary school pupils are unhappy with the city’s bus service citing the lack of buses, lateness, overcrowding, and no dedicated school routes, as being among the problems.
However more than 90 per cent said more should be done to promote the service while 30 per cent said they would “definitely use the bus more” if encouraged.
These results come from the school transport survey of 200 secondary school pupils in The Bish, the Jes, and Salerno, conducted in 2008 by the Galway Chamber School Transport committee.
The goal of the survey was to establish how secondary school pupils travel to and from school, their attitude to public transport, and in particular what percentage travelled by car.
The survey comprised a questionnaire with 21 questions. The participants were asked to complete the questionnaire in writing and could ask for any clarification on any question. Children were also asked to comment or express an opinion on some of the questions.
The results have now been published by the Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the results show that 60 per cent of those surveyed think the bus service is “unsuitable or inadequate”. Among those who gave this response, 15 per cent travelled to school by bus while 80 per cent travelled by car.
The main issues affecting confidence in the bus system were the lack of buses, buses being late, location of bus stops, overcrowding, no dedicated school routes within the city, condition of buses, attitude of drivers, and safety.
A total of 50 per cent of those who use the bus say the bus service say it is satisfactory and would recommend it to a friend.
When asked if more should be done to encourage bus usage, 94 per cent said more should be done to promote the use of buses. Some 30 per cent said they would “definitely use the bus more” if encouraged while 50 per cent would “consider using the bus” more if encouraged.
All of those who cycled to school expressed concerns over safety. They said the main issues making cycling to school difficult are traffic, road crossings, and heavy schoolbags. Of those who walked to school, 50 per cent expressed safety concerns, mainly regarding traffic and road crossings.
