25 signatures reached
To: Education Authority
Keep Lisnaskea School Bus Depot open
We are asking Education Authority to reconsider their proposal to close Lisnaskea School Bus depot.
Why is this important?
Education Authority plans to close Lisnaskea School Bus depot as a cost-saving exercise are unacceptable and a threat to OUR children’s health and safety!
When Lisnaskea school bus depot is closed (and sold off?), the closest bus depot will be in Enniskillen which will mean school buses will either have to travel there for refueling or refuel in commercial fore courts in Lisnaskea.
This will be very wasteful and bad for the environment and will further increase congestion in the county town. Closing the Lisnaskea depot is yet another local service being removed from our villages and towns but there's no reason for this to happen.
Once it is closed all the school buses operating from Roslea to Lisbellaw will be based out of Enniskillen.
This risks delays of up to one hour in getting replacement buses in event of a winter breakdown - the distance for a spare bus to come out could be more than 22 miles and there's no one on duty to even take a call before 7am.
What's more there is no mobile phone coverage east of Lisnaskea so a driver might have to walk a considerable distance, leaving children on an unheated school bus, to the nearest house to use a land-line.
If there are delays in getting a school bus to replace one broken down in the cold - not only are children put at risk but parents who rely on school buses being on time could have to arrange childcare at short notice or risk missing work.
The uncertainty over bus provision could cause children enrolled to take exams disruption.
The last thing the Education Authority appears to be thinking about is the needs of children or their families.
But this is not all - the school bus drivers are hugely concerned about the risk of accidents from school buses which are too big to refuel safely at local commercial service stations hitting children or even adults leaving the service station.
The Education Authority bus drivers are very concerned about this move.
While the EA tell us that it will save money - we don't understand how this could be the case. Sending buses to the Enniskillen depot for refuelling will cost more – the only possible explanation is that EA are looking to sell off Lisnaskea Bus Depot!
We are asking that you help the School Bus drivers in their fight to protect the children and keep open Lisnaskea School Bus Depot.
Please take the time to sign our petition and share with your friends online.
