Several secondary students in Bandon, with full bus tickets, were left in tears after they were refused onto schoolbuses after school on Wednesday.
By Kieran O’Mahony
SEVERAL secondary students in Bandon, with full bus tickets, were left in tears after they were refused onto schoolbuses after school on Wednesday.
Some of the students had just experienced their first day at secondary school.
Parent Nora Bradfield from Enniskeane – who has been campaigning herself to secure a seat for her son on a school bus to Bandon – said these incidents are truly shocking to hear.
‘A brother and sister – who both have full bus tickets – were boarding the bus after school when the girl was not allowed onto the bus, and it drove off,’ Nora told The Southern Star.
‘She was just left on the footpath in the square while he brother was on the bus. Her mother is livid that her daughter was left behind like that.’
Luckily, another mother from Enniskeane, who was collecting her own children from school, recognised the girl who was very upset, and she gave her a lift home. But this wasn’t an isolated case.
‘As she drove on, she spotted another first year student left behind too – who also had a full ticket. Then she came across a first year student from the Hammies who was also left stranded. He had no mobile phone to contact his parents, and he was in a distressed state,’ explained Nora.
Nora added that the most frustrating thing is that all three students had full bus tickets and they got the bus on Wednesday morning without a problem, but there was no room for them in the afternoon.
This latest development is within days of 16 students from Ballineen and Enniskeane being told that they have no seats on the schoolbus to Bandon. They are now hoping that another bus will be added to their route.
They were told that because Dunmanway is their closest school, and all the seats to Bandon are taken, there are no more tickets available for the Bandon buses.
Nora Bradfield said that her daughter, who attends Coláiste na Toirbhirte, was successful in getting a seat, but her son, who started in Hamilton High School last Friday, did not get a ticket.
Meanwhile, Sen Lombard confirmed on Tuesday that he has secured a 36-seater bus to help out the students who missed out on tickets for the school bus to Kinsale, which was highlighted on the front page of The Southern Star last week.
