Misbehaviour by students on buses and trains is a problem that is getting worse. Recent reports voicing concerns of bus drivers have been given short shift by politicians and their spin doctors, very few of whom we suspect have ever travelled on a bus full of rowdy students. Yes, the majority are reasonably behaved but dismissing out of hand the concerns of those at the front line shows the gap between current transport policy and the reality facing those who use public transport and their own vehicles.

Drivers say that students now uses buses in particular as social venues where they can do as they please because they don’t have to pay and so any sanctions are ineffective. The government may want Headteachers to take responsibility for their students while they use public transport but how? CCTV may help transport operators but with the limited sanctions available to them in school, there is in reality little they can do outside to try and impose discipline on students outside the school gates.

At present it looks unlikely that a national yellow school bus scheme will ever happen regardless of the economic or practical logic behind such a move.