08 September 2006
A £37m investment programme to commission 110 new school buses has been announced by Northern Ireland children's minister, Maria Eagle.
By 2009, seatbelts should be fitted for all children in school buses and no child will need to stand.
Existing buses will be upgraded and variable speed limits introduced near schools in rural areas, where limits are currently 60mph.
'Northern Ireland has the highest use of school buses of any part of the UK,' Eagle said.
'Travel by bus is already the safest way of getting to school. The measures I am announcing will make the school bus journeys safer still for the 110,000 children who travel this way.'
PFsep2006
