To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what consideration she has given to adding buses to city centre bus routes which serve schools, including the Glider, from 2 November in order to stop crowding and enable distancing to be maintained during peak hours.

I recognise that many pupils rely on our public transport network to travel to and from school. The safety of passengers on public transport remains a key priority for me as we tackle the worrying increase in COVID-19 cases and most likely, a challenging winter ahead.

Translink drivers are required to monitor and report any capacity issues on their vehicles and, where maximum capacity has been reached, encourage customers to board the next vehicle. On Glider and Metro routes, which serve large numbers of school children, additional dedicated school services have already been operational since the start of the school term in September.

I have also approved the addition of over 500 bus services to supplement the public transport network to facilitate social distancing for all passengers, including school children. Translink closely monitors passenger loadings and where there is a consistent requirement for extra capacity, additional services are introduced into the schedule. This ongoing monitoring will continue when the schools resume on 2 November 2020.