Safe and Accessible Home-to-School Transportation

A local authority in the UK is dedicated to providing a range of services to their residents, including community and home-to-school transport for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

We have been working closely with them for the past eight years by supplying a range of vehicles to assist with these services.

Challenges

In 2015, we partnered with the local authority to provide accessible vehicles for a local school serving over 300 students with special educational needs across two locations.

Due to the complexity of their needs and the pandemic, it was necessary to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and increase the safety of the students during their home-to-school journeys. In addition, the existing fleet of vehicles was ageing, becoming less reliable, and was no longer cost-effective. As a result, new vehicles had to be introduced to the fleet to ensure uninterrupted transport services.

Solution

To address these challenges, we provided air purifiers to be fitted in all school vehicles to reduce the risk of COVID-19. To combat the ageing fleet of vehicles, we also introduced a range of new accessible vehicles equipped with features such as wheelchair ramps and side steps for easy access for learners with mobility challenges.

The local authorities benefit from our priority service and full maintenance package, including safety inspections and breakdown recovery, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Results

The introduction of air purifiers and new vehicles has enabled the local authorities to increase the safety of the students and reduce the risk of COVID-19 during the pandemic. The new fleet of vehicles and our priority service and maintenance package ensures uninterrupted home-to-school transport services.