Furious Sheffield dad hits out at packed school bus – ‘too full’ for kids to get on

Dad of five David Forrest says he is sick and tired of having to drive three of his kids to school because their regular bus is often too full to allow them on.

David 49 described the First Bus X5 service through Swallownest as diabolical after he had to drive his three children to Wales High School yet again because it was too full for them.

He said: “Last week they got on a bus no problem because they sent a double-decker.

“But this week for some reason they decided to change it to a single decker. Last week the Sheffield children weren’t at school, so it doesn’t make sense that they are going to send a double decker then – but when they know they are going to be busier they send a smaller bus.

“Sometimes my eldest lad has phoned me up and said his younger brother and sister have got on the bus but he couldn’t get on it.

“I just want them to sort it out so there is enough room for the kids to get on.

“I have to jump in my car and take my middle three to Wales High School school school and a younger son who stays at home.

“It has a knock on effect for him when he’s late for school. I don’t want him being late because of the bus service.”

David says he has made several complaints about the reliability of the service which have not been dealt with by the company.

He added: “There used to be two buses and if one was a bit full they could get on the one afterwards, but for some reason they decided to take that one off so now the X5 is the only one they can catch.

“This has been going on for months and months.”

Nigel Eggleton, Managing Director at First South Yorkshire said: “With schools, retail and other businesses opening up, we are noticing an increase in traffic at busy times of the day and extra demand on some of our services, but it is important stress that we are still adhering to the government guidelines on social distancing, a requirement to wear a face covering and limited capacities on board.

“We monitor every journey and service operated each day and where we can, we are introducing additional buses where needed to accommodate for the extra demand.

"Our drivers are trying to manage capacity the best they can and are aware of the frustrations customers are feeling when a bus turns up full, but whilst we have Covid guidelines in place to help protect everyone’s wellbeing the present circumstance is likely to continue for the time being.

"However, once we have identified the journey the gentleman’s children are trying to travel on, we will try and ensure a double deck bus is available at that time.

“I apologies for any inconvenience caused with the situation but first and foremost we need to help protect everyone who travels with us whilst we work through the pandemic”

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