Government considers staggered school hours to ease traffic woes

The government is exploring a nationwide rollout of staggered school hours to alleviate morning traffic congestion and improve efficiency in public transportation, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Works, Santia Bradshaw shared in Parliament on Tuesday.

She noted that efforts had already been made to assess the viability of adjusting school start times, with some institutions beginning classes before 9 a.m. as part of a pilot programme.

The pilot programme, which saw schools with large populations like The St Michael School and Queen’s College adopting earlier start times, has already yielded benefits in reducing congestion in high-traffic areas, she said.

Bradshaw signalled that discussions in the upcoming financial year would focus on expanding the initiative across the island.

“We initiated a pilot back then to determine the effectiveness of making that transition. Obviously, there are a number of factors that go into making that change—consultation with parents, the willingness of principals and teachers, and our engagement with the unions. But we have certainly seen the benefit,” she said.

Apart from Harrison College, all other schools with adjusted start times have dedicated school buses, Bradshaw revealed, noting that additional buses, set to arrive later this year, would enhance the ability to allocate resources efficiently and better serve students.

“Our discussions for this coming financial year will be with [the Ministry of Education] in relation to extending the pilot to something more permanent for the rest of the schools across the island. With the additional complement of buses coming, hopefully by May, we should be in a position to see better rerouting of our buses and a more reliable service,” she added.

Bradshaw also stressed that the government remains committed to ensuring children are prioritised in the transportation system.

“I think we went through a period where our children were almost left on the side of the road in the morning and afternoon,” she said.

“With great effort and commitment from both the ministry and the Transport Board, we have dedicated the resources to making sure our children in this country are a priority to get to school.”

The deputy PM also suggested that an expansion of extracurricular activities at schools could help to facilitate a more structured transportation system.

“I also felt we needed to have more extracurricular activities taking place at school, which would allow for perhaps a later pick-up time in some cases for our students,” she said, further expressing hope that the education sector would be open to working on solutions that could better balance school dismissal times with work schedules to ease traffic congestion.

“We can get the working public off the road as quickly as possible, but equally then be able to make a quick turnaround to have the school children also removed from the educational institution,” she added.

Chief Operations Officer of the Transport Board, Linda Holder, confirmed that discussions had already begun with the education ministry regarding the impact of staggered school times on the transport system and the wider public.

“We have started conversations with the chief education officer and explained to her the benefit to the public transport system, the school children themselves, and everyone else on the road,” Holder said.

“We understand that [staggered hours] would lead to greater productivity on the island, and she agrees with that. So, we have started that discussion.”

Holder noted that preliminary data collected from the earlier school start times confirmed that the approach could reduce congestion and make public transport more efficient.

“Once that happens, you will see a slight shift in the traffic congestion on the road, and we are aiming to work with the ministry to see how best we can achieve that for all,” she said. (SM)