Several bus drivers working for the Education Authority as well as Ulsterbus protested on Tuesday morning to raise awareness of what the Secretary of the Fermanagh Council of Trades Unions Donal O’Cofaigh has said is a “threat” over the future of transport services in the county.

The protest outside the Education Authority’s depot on the Sligo Road in Enniskillen followed the publication of a consultation paper by the Department of Education.

“All three options at the heart of the Department of Education consultation will affect Fermanagh disproportionately,” Mr. O’Cofaigh told The Impartial Reporter.

“The imposition of charges for school transport which will no doubt substantially rise over time will be another ‘rural tax’ and will only encourage more parents to drive their children to school, increasing congestion and pollution further and undermining the sustainability of virtually all our rural bus routes.

“The second option they’re considering is to increase the walking distance further. This is currently set at two miles to school and two miles back for primary school children and three miles for those in secondary school.

“This is already far too big and is completely inappropriate for children walking on unlit, rural roads without verges or pavements.

“This is hugely concerning and a serious challenge to our children’s safety. The final option they offer is to restrict travel to only the closest school. This undermines parental choice and poses a direct challenge to the sustainability of our larger secondary schools. School transport should remain free to the school to which children are enrolled.”

Mr. O’Cofaigh, who is also a member of Unite the Union, said school buses provide an invaluable service in which “parents can go to work confident that their children will get to school safely”.

“Unite the Union drivers on both yellow and blue buses are hugely concerned about the impact of this on the children but on the sustainability of rural transport and schools here. They are already getting the word out but we need parents and pupils to make sure they sign the petition.

“We also need school managements to consider fully the implication of restricting free school transport. We must defend the principle of free and safe school transport for all,” he said.