A cornerstone of Bus SA policy is the implementation of a Bus Safety Week – ideally to take place in late January every year or so, just before school returns for the year.
This has been high on our policy ‘wishlist’ for many years now. We passionately believe in child safety and there is a genuine need for community education around school (and public transport) bus safety and behaviours.
Similar initiatives exist in other States, and Bus SA remains ever hopeful that government will find funds that enable us to implement this vital social function.
A Bus Safety Week initiative would promote the good safety record of the bus industry and at the same time promote the ‘shared responsibility’ of bus safety. The initiative would focus on:
- shared roads (giving way to buses, school bus stop safety)
- the differences between accredited and registered operators
- correct safety behaviours on and around buses (respect for staff, wearing seat belts, the ramifications of anti-social behaviour).
Bus Safety Week could also be the flagship for a further program of school safety seminars whereby every public school could access an education program for students. We believe it would be a very worthwhile government investment.