Windtown school bus service secured despite Covid passenger restrictions

The Windtown School Bus service which came under funding pressure because of increased social distancing has been secured for the forthcoming school year.

The service which is implemented by Flexibus has seen a huge increase in school participation and completion since it was introduced in 2017.

Deirdre Murtagh of Flexibus explains that they hired a large bus this year and used it and a smaller bus to facilitate the service, which is run by the School Completion Service.

This has seen an increased cost in running the service.

“Meath County Council has been very supportive with funding and Cllr Eddie Fennessy has made a contribution through his discretionary fund.

“The service is secure now from September through to June 2022.”

Cllr Eddie Fennessy said it had been a difficult year for the Windtown School Bus Service. “Social distancing measures brought about by Covid-19 increased the cost of the service considerably.

"Were it not for the efforts of Meath County Council, Flexibus, Navan School Completion Project, Meath Children and Youth Protection Services, Scoil Naomh Eoin and Beaufort College the service could have been lost. I commend them for saving it.

"The social impact the bus service has on the community it serves is immense. A good education will create better career opportunities for the students who use it. I'm delighted it's been saved, local children will benefit long into the future," he said.

The transport initiative was introduced for the 2017 school year and now sees buses bringing the young people from the Windtown area to school in time for breakfast club and home after homework club.

Prior to its introduction absenteeism from the area was 19.8 per cent, there were problems with punctuality, referrals to the educational welfare office, no student had full attendance records and there were students who didn’t go to secondary school at all and others who didn’t progress from first year to second year.

From its introduction there all that has changed with excellent attendance rates, punctuality school completion rates and progression through school.