Shortcomings in new rules which aim to make school transport safer have sparked fears over the safety of thousands of pupils in Fife.
Legislation coming into effect this year will start to see seat belts fitted on all dedicated home to school transport, including buses, coaches, minibuses and taxis, with the new law firstly tackling vehicles transporting primary school children before vehicles carrying secondary school pupils are covered in 2021.
The staggered phasing-in of the new proposals should help local authorities and bus companies adapt to the change.
However, with many journeys in Fife operated through registered local services, the move will not cover general bus services made available to fare-paying members of the public.
The issue has been raised by Jonathan O’Riordan, who is a member of the Madras College Parent Council in St Andrews, who said: “Children’s safety should be the principal concern and it is very short-sighted that this legislation will not cover buses being used for registered user services.
“The majority of Madras pupils are bussed to school every day.
“Where there is a dedicated service then the buses or coaches used already have seat belts fitted but that does not apply to most Fife school transport.
“We could find ourselves in the situation where pupils attending an independent school will be conveyed in vehicles with seat belts while those travelling along the same route to a state school will not.”
Tay Bridgehead Liberal Democrat Councillor Tim Brett said while the legislation is welcome, it appears it will make “no difference” to the vast majority of pupils who are currently transported in vehicles without safety belts.
It is understood that Fife Council has approached local bus contractors to ascertain their willingness to install seat belts, but had been told this would incur significant additional costs.
Mr Brett added: “The council has therefore declared it does not intend to pursue this now, but could do so when re-tendering the services with a lead-in time, when any additional costs could be reduced.
“Given the recent spate of bus crashes in Ireland, China and Scotland, it looks as though commercial considerations have taken a higher priority than our children’s safety considerations, which is thus very disappointing.”
A total of 10,395 secondary pupils are bussed to school across Fife, 2,151 of whom attend Madras College, Bell Baxter High in Cupar and Waid Academy.
A spokeswoman for Stagecoach East Scotland said: “We meet all current UK and EU legislation, as well as contractual obligations regarding the provision of seatbelts.”