We have just been informed that since the contract for our children's bus service has been awarded to a new company. This company is now operating the primary school bus, with children as young as 4 travelling alone, as a public bus service where any member of the public may board and travel with these young vulnerable children. Can anyone advise what we can do to try and stop this before something unthinkable happens?

We live on an A road which does get rather busy at times, our daughter is at secondary school, the nearest drop off point to our house is approx 500 yards up the road, so the driver drops her off in the side road about 20 yards away from home and off the main highway (may i also add this has been the case for the last 14 years for other children) in the last month a neighbour has complained to the school and the bus company stating this is unsafe and if they dont stop they will take this to the local paper. My question if anybody out there can answer is 'can a school bus stop anywhere they feel is in the best interest of the childs saftey'? a concerned parent.
Thank YOU

Many bus companies now run school buses as service buses, this means that the driver as long as they don't go onto council property(school ground)doesn't need disclosure.
I've seen kids despite being warned run around the front of the bus, on one occassion into the path of a car,my frantic wave out of the window slowed the car down, the young boy still ran into the cars side, the only thing damaged was the car.
Pressure from the bus companies on their drivers is a real problem, councils monitor the routes and must know that the timings for journeys are quite often impossible given the slightest holdup, its the driver that ultimately gets it in the neck. Opting out of EU rulings by the British Gov., for domestic drivers mean that some drivers even drive taxi's at night.I've know drivers on domestic rules that have worked 75hr weeks.
Its weak politicians and civil servants bending to commercial pressure from big bus companies that are partly to blamed.

I am from Florida and here to school bus stop safety is an overlooked part of school development. On June 1, 2010 my daughter was killed by a speeding motorist as she got off her bus. Please e-mail me if you need any extra support or anything.
I applaud your efforts.

I have removed this blog about the bus driver.

Its done its job, its raised the safety issue again about the few bus drivers who do not understand that their job is also to protect school pupils on the school run, children under their charge.

These are the few bus drivers that wilfully disreguard any safety advice given to them by their employers,as in dont care anyway!
Then spit their dummies out when some one has the gall to tell them they are putting lives at risk.

By also disreguarding their companies policy on safety, to use hazards lights & to remove the safety sign when pupils are not on board.

To those bus drivers & bus operators who do ensure that safety on their bus is paramount, that do take the time to ensure the correct use of hazard lights & to simply remove the sign when not carrying pupils.
You have our grateful thanks, & i am sure the thanks of all parents whose children use school transport.

I may add this post has not being removed due to any legal threats ,we have not in anyway been forced to remove it, it's simply done its job, meantime!!
I may add this from Carla Oldham "As for loosing people sympathy....ive never wanted sympathy " none of us have.

We simply need a cure ensuring no other family goes through this!