A BUS operator has described as "inconsistent and impractical" a new policy which demands that vehicles used on designated school contracts are at all times fitted with seat belts.
Munro's of Jedburgh fell foul of the edict from Scottish Borders Council last month when it was forced to use a large service bus to convey around 20 children from Lanton to Ancrum Primary School, via the busy A698 and A68 roads.
The normal 29-sea
ter, which is fully fitted with seat belts and booster seats, had been taken off the road while it was prepared for an MOT test.
There is some dispute about how long the situation, which caused consternation at last week's meeting of Ancrum Parent Council, lasted.
One member of that forum claimed the service bus, which had no seat belts, was in action for 10 days, the specialised vehicle being brought back into service for a day and then removed again.
But Ewan Farrish of Munro's said the 29-seater was only out of commission for "a couple of days" and that the scenario could not have been avoided.
He admitted his firm had been contacted by SBC and told that, in future, a seat-belted vehicle must always be used on the contract.
"This is almost impossible to guarantee," said Mr Farrish. "We have 34 vehicles operating a variety of contracts including public services, and two spare buses to cover for breakdowns, MOTs and the like."
He added: "When this policy was introduced, we dismissed the notion of fitting seat belts on all those vehicles not already equipped. If there was an accident, the belts would simply come away from their moorings and could be even more dangerous.
"To buy vehicles already fitted with seat belts by the manufacturer would have huge cost implications for us and would undoubtedly put up the price of school contracts. At the end of the day, we fulfilled our obligation to get the children to school safely.
"This was a highly unusual situation and I think a mountain is being made out of a molehill by some parents."
The parent-council member who lives in Lanton but does not wish to be named said it was only natural that parents were very concerned about an inappropriate vehicle taking children as young as five to Ancrum.
"I know taxis and private hire vehicle contracted to carry schoolchildren have to meet rigorous regulations about seat belts, disabled access and raised seats," they said. "Yet that does not seem to apply to other operators and I think the policy is a nonsense."
Another Lanton parent sympathised with the bus company and acknowledged it had been "polite and caring" when she contacted them.
The full article contains 459 words and appears in Southern Reporter newspaper.
