BUSK & CoachMarque: Together we'll get you there safe and sound

London, September 15 -- - BUSK & CoachMarque in new child safety alliance

BUSK - the national school transport safety group - has joined forces with CoachMarque - the UK coach industry's quality standard.

The new alliance was launched today at a special event at Hampton Court Palace by BUSK patron Mike Nolan and CPT Director General, Brian Nimick, who signed a joint charter formalising the agreement between the two organisations. The link-up aims to provide parents and travel organisers with a guaranteed safety standard when booking coach trips.

Mike Nolan said: "The launch of this partnership is a significant step forward that can only improve the safety of children and young people when they travel in a vehicle operated under the CoachMarque scheme. It gives teachers who are responsible for organising school trips, confidence to hire from a CoachMarque member, knowing that the scheme is endorsed by BUSK. It effectively takes away the '20 questions' that need to normally be asked by the school before signing the contract to hire. As Patron of BUSK it gives me great pleasure to sign this charter today."

Brian Nimick said: "I am delighted to sign the charter on behalf of CoachMarque, the guaranteed sign of top quality coach travel across the UK. Providing the safest possible service - including advanced safety features and procedures as standard - is a fundamental requirement for all operators who apply to be awarded the CoachMarque seal of approval. Members know that the safety of children in particular is non-negotiable, and support BUSK's campaign to put this at the top of the transport agenda.

"CoachMarque operators have undertaken to fulfil all BUSK's requirements, and to allow BUSK to carry out spot checks on vehicles. That is a measure of their confidence in the safety of the services they operate."

Notes to Editors

1. The BUSK-CoachMarque charter will be signed at an event commencing at 1:30pm on Monday 15 September, on the main entrance forecourt to Hampton Court Palace (detailed travel directions attached). Representatives of the press are invited to attend.

2. CoachMarque

CoachMarque is the UK-wide quality-mark for coach services. To qualify for CoachMarque membership, operators must meet high standards of safety, comfort and customer care, including seat-belts and other safety features on all coaches, modern vehicles, and approved driver training. They must also submit to regular external assessment to ensure that standards are maintained. More information about the scheme, including contact details for all CoachMarque operators, are available at http://www.coachmarque.org/. CoachMarque is administered by the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT), the national trade association for the bus, coach and light rail industries.

For more detailed information or comment, please contact Stephen Heard or Christopher Nice on +44 (0) 207 836 0712. For radio interviews, CPT has an ISDN line: +44 (0) 207 379 6469.

3. BUSK

BUSK, known throughout the European Union, is regarded as an authority on vehicular safety of children and young people. The organisation, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, works to ensure that education authorities, schools and voluntary groups that are responsible for transporting children, understand the key questions they should ask before hiring or buying in transport facilities. Instrumental in bringing about changes in seat belt legislation on coaches and minibuses, BUSK also presses for additional safety measures for pupil transportation and is organiser of School Transport Safety Week and BUSK Minibus Complete, a training package for schools and voluntary groups.

Pat Harris +44 (0) 1633 274 944 or +44(0) 7751 816 367; Charles Pedrick +44 (0) 7879 428 000 Stephen Heard/Christopher Nice Tel.: +44 (0) 207 240 3131