‘Buster and the Belt Ups’ lead School Transport Safety Campaign

Bus Éireann’s Red Setter and local schoolchildren were in playful mode for the launch of the new ‘Buster and the Belt-Ups’ school transport safety campaign.

Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan, and Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English were also in Merrion Square to officially launch the important new safety initiative.

All Bus Éireann school buses are fitted with seat belts, but it is vital to continue to encourage students to wear these at all times.

As there are over 44 million journeys made by 112,500 school pupils under the School Transport Scheme annually, safety remains the absolute priority for the company.

‘Buster and the Belt-Ups’ are animated characters who represent this new educational campaign, which involves a new safety video  that will be distributed to national schools, as part of packs including posters, seat belt safety certificates, activity sheets and stickers.

These will be distributed in Irish to Gael Scoileanna.

The new campaign – which aims to engage primary school students with the Belt-Up characters – is endorsed by the Road Safety Authority and the INTO (Irish National Teachers Organisation).

Minister Jan O’Sullivan said the school environment is a great place for children to learn about the importance of seat belt wearing: “I am delighted to be involved in launching the campaign. The safety of our school children is obviously extremely important and I believe this initiative is a great way to get the message of ‘belting-up’ across to students. Education is the most important means of achieving compliance with the requirement to wear a seat belt, and the use of ‘Buster and the Belt-Ups’ makes it very easy for younger students to relate to.”

Minister Damien English – who has responsibility for the School Transport Scheme – said he was happy the campaign is being jointly supported by the RSA and the INTO:  “This campaign is not just about school children. It is vital that parents, guardians and teachers get on board to highlight the importance of road safety. They play a major role in conveying the message that it’s ‘the norm’ to reach for your seat belt once you get on the bus.”

Bus Éireann operate the School Transport Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills (DoES). Every school day some 112,500 schoolchildren are transported on network using over 3,700 vehicles on 6,000 routes – serving 3,000 schools across the country. This includes almost over 9,000 students with special educational needs, who are generally provided with services on a door-to-door basis.  Further information on the new campaign is available from our school safety page