SEAT belts in school buses should be mandatory (Bus Belt Up Bid, The Press, April 21), and I am surprised the city council has taken so long to do something about this all-important safety feature.

A number of injuries can obviously be prevented by introducing this measure. However, unlike aircraft, the bus does not have cabin attendants to ensure all passengers are correctly belted up. Presumably this task will now be the responsibility of the driver, who will make sure all children are strapped in, prior to taking his/her own seat on the vehicle.

Ideally, each school bus should have its own inspector to make certain that all passengers remain seated, and do not undo their seat belts while the bus is in motion.

J H Roy, Hadrian Avenue, York.


* INSTEAD of making CCTV cameras compulsory, would it not be cheaper in the long run to install a bus conductor to assist the driver on school runs and late evenings?

This would ensure that seat belts are intact and fares collected before any journey commences, plus antisocial behaviour will not distract the driver on any given route.

I may be wrong, but I am sure that the general public would be willing to pay the extra coppers to ensure a safe and undisrupted journey, and that the move will prove financially viable in the long term.

Kenneth Bowker, Vesper Walk, Huntington, York.