BLOC CONSTITUTION
The Bloc Constitution for those who are registered users.
Terms and Conditions of Use
The following are covered under the Terms and Conditions of Use:
- Payments
- Cancellations and Changes
- Conduct and Usage
- General Conditions and Restrictions
Links to the Ts and Cs are below:
Code of Conduct for Parents
We expect parents will support BLOC by:
- Upholding the ethos and rules of BLOC
- Being polite and courteous to bus drivers, bus coordinators and all Users of the bus service, especially all children.
- Arriving at the bus stops on time in the morning and afternoons.
Code of Conduct for Users
| Seatbelts | Where seatbelts are provided for use on a coach these must be worn at all times whilst the vehicle is underway on the public highway. Students must remain seated at all times whilst the vehicle is in motion. |
| Food | Eating is not permitted on any of the buses |
| Rubbish | Students must take their litter with them before leaving the school bus or place their rubbish in bags if provided. |
| Bad Language | Swearing by students to other students or bus drivers will not be tolerated. The offence could result in a bus pass beingc withdrawn. |
| Noise Levels | Excessive noise on a school bus becomes a distraction for drivers. Students must keep noise levels to a minimum for the safety of themselves and other passengers. (e.g. no shouting, no loud music or videos played from mobile phones). |
| Distraction | Drivers should not be distracted in any way whilst driving unless there is an emergency on board the vehicle. This includes, but is not limited to: Throwing items on the busUsing mobile phones within 3 rows of the bus driver |
| Damage | Willful damage or disfigurement of any fittings relating to the vehicle will not be tolerated and charges will be passed on to parents (see the terms and conditions) |
| Emergency Exits | There will be no tampering with the emergency exits unless in the case of a genuine emergency. |
| Photographs/Videos | Taking photographs or videos of other students, bus staff or bus coordinators is prohibited. |
| Bad Behaviour | Threatening behaviour, physical abuse, stealing and bullying of any kind (verbal, physical, psychological) will not be tolerated. Incidents will be referred to the school for follow up and parents can report them to the school directly at principal@europaschoo.uk . |
| Forbidden Items | All items banned by school policy are banned on the bus. This includes:
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| Valuable Items | Users should not bring valuable possessions on the buses. BLOC does not accept any responsibility in case of damage to or loss of these. |
Boarding the Buses
User must be at the designated boarding points five minutes prior to departure. BLOC takes no responsibility for late arrival of users to stops.
Buses will only stop for users to board and get-off at bus stops designated on the BLOC Bus Schedule or other locations (when traffic disruption occurs) when formally communicated by BLOC to the impacted users.
Users should always remain on the pedestrian footpath and stay well clear of the bus at all time (especially to allow doors to open and close).
Under no circumstances should user attempt to board any bus once the doors are closed after the designated departure time or at the School, regardless if the bus is stationary, held up in traffic or moving very slowly. Buses are not allowed to stop and open their doors when they are not at designated stops.
New Bus Stop Request Process
This process relates to requests from existing users of the BLOC Bus. Those not registered as users are not permitted to make requests for new bus stops as part of any registration application. Requests will only be considered in April prior to the commencement of the BLOC Bus new school year registration process (which usually takes place in May), should any request be formally made.
For a new stop to be considered, the committee will decide whether to accept the request based on the following criteria:
- A new stop must be somewhere between the starting and ending point of an existing route and not result in any deviation from the current route followed by the bus.
- The proposed stop cannot be less than 600m away from an existing stop.
- The new stop has to be a recognised bus stop location where a bus is permitted to temporarily wait. The proposed stop should not be just any point along a road, which includes not being in a bicycle lane or on a double yellow line.
- The proposed stop should be in an accessible location, which includes a safe place for the users to wait and an acceptable safe pedestrian crossing point nearby.
- The stop must serve a minimum of four permanent users from a least three different families, who will benefit from the new stop. This is to ensure the longevity of the proposed stop. This also helps to avoid extended journey times (each stop adds about 2 mins to the journey).
The company providing the buses must ultimately agree to any proposed stop
New stops will usually not be added to routes mid-way through the year as this leads to a disruption of bus. The only instance that this would occur is following a BLOC Bus Member consultation process for a revision of entire routes, as stipulated in the BLOC Constitution.
Removal of Bus Stop Process
The committee will regularly review the usage of published stops on a route. Where an existing BLOC bus stop either not requested to be used by any user at the start of a school year or ceases to be used by any user during the school year, the stop will be removed from the route. The justification for this is that buses will not be forced to waste time stopping at a location where no one will board.
Acceptance of the Rules / Policies
By completing the online registration form and submitting to the BLOC Committee, parents are affirming they have read BLOC’s codes of conduct and terms and conditions and accept to abide by them.
In addition, that they accept that breach of any can result in either a temporary suspension or termination of usage.