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11
Mar
School bus operator responds to safety concerns after drivers opt for alternate route
The operator of a Harrogate school bus service has responded to safety concerns after its drivers were seen travelling along a different route.
Leeds-based Tetley’s Coaches operates the R10 service, which runs between Leeds and Harrogate, and is the school bus service for both Harrogate Grammar School and Rossett School pupils.
According to a route map on Tetley’s website, drivers travel between the schools via Otley Road, Pannal Ash Road and a short section of Arthurs Avenue.
Tetley's Coaches R10 route map
However, a concerned local resident told the Stray Ferret that to avoid the busy junction of Arthurs Avenue and Otley Road, bus drivers frequently travel in the opposite direction and use the full length of Arthurs Avenue to travel between the schools.
This by-passes Otley Road and most of Pannal Ash Road, which are often clogged with traffic, but causes problems on the narrow Arthurs Avenue.
The resident said:
School buses are using Arthurs Avenue as a cut-through. It’s absolute chaos at school pick-up and drop-off times.
This is not the designated route and is unsuitable for buses - cars are parked on both sides of the roads, often illegally, and residents are hemmed in. I’m not sure what would happen if emergency services needed access.
The resident said with three schools – Harrogate Grammar, Rossett and Rossett Acre Primary School – in such close proximity, the coaches using Arthurs Avenue only “add to an already precarious situation”.
She added:
Arthurs Avenue is now a rat-run, albeit a slow one, but drivers seem keen to railroad their way through instead of queuing to get onto Otley Road along the designated route.
Some drivers have been using the entirety of Arthurs Avenue.
Cllr Mike Schofield, a member of the Green and Independents group who represents the Harlow and St George’s division on North Yorkshire Council, said drivers who choose to travel the full length of Arthurs Avenue are putting “many pupils from both Rossett and Harrogate Grammar at unnecessary risk”.
He told the Stray Ferret:
Even more of a concern is the safety of the pupils and parents at Rossett Acre, who use the entrance and exit on Arthurs Avenue.
Due to the width of Arthurs Avenue, and cars parking on both sides, it makes Arthurs Avenue already a congested road for residents, pupils and parents alike. The road itself has a 7.5 tonne weight restriction for, I believe, safety reasons.
Cllr Schofield said he feels all bus drivers should “exit Harrogate Grammar School by turning right onto Arthurs Avenue, left onto Otley Road and then proceed up Pannal Ash Road towards Rossett School, therefore keeping to the main arterial travel routes”.
Safety is ‘our top priority’, operator says
When the Stray Ferret contacted Tetley’s for comment, a spokesperson said:
We are aware of a small number of isolated incidents where drivers operating the R10 school service in Harrogate have used Arthurs Avenue.
The spokesperson claimed there is “no specific designated route for this part of the service” - despite a map on the company’s website suggesting buses run predominantly along Pannal Ash Road, before reaching Otley Road and a small section of Arthurs Avenue – but said Tetley’s “understands the concerns raised by residents”.
The spokesperson added:
We have spoken with the drivers involved and asked them to use Pannal Ash Road and Otley Road rather than travelling the full length of Arthurs Avenue. The safety of our passengers and the local community is our top priority, and we take any concerns about routes and road safety very seriously.
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