Students travelling to school on some bus routes have had no choice but to stand due to overcrowding. Extra buses with more capacity will be laid on after the autumn half-term holiday. Our photo shows the Lycée Edward Steichen in Clervaux LaLa La Photo

Students travelling to school on some bus routes have had no choice but to stand due to overcrowding. Extra buses with more capacity will be laid on after the autumn half-term holiday. Our photo shows the Lycée Edward Steichen in Clervaux LaLa La Photo

Taking public transport during the covid-19 pandemic has often been a fraught experience. Even when wearing masks, passengers are forced into close proximity with their fellow travelers when standing in a train or on a bus.

A study of some 383 dedicated school bus routes between 18 September and 23 October showed that buses on 37 routes regularly carried standing passengers. The education and transport ministries have now decided to lay on additional schedules for 5 of the affected routes, while the others will be served by buses with an increased seating capacity. The new schedules will start operating immediately after the autumn half-term holidays, on Monday 9 November.

But the new routes mean that additional drivers will be required, especially as the current pool of drivers has been affected by the pandemic – some have tested positive or have had to self-quarantine because they have been in contact with someone who has coronavirus, or they have been on family leave.

To address the shortfall, transport minister François Bausch is looking into a number of solutions. These include reducing regular regional RGTR bus services during off-peak hours to free up additional drivers for the school runs.

But the ministry is also looking at calling in possible reserve drivers who are currently not being used to their capacity at LuxairGroup, and, as minister for the armed forces, Bausch is also considering bringing in qualified drivers from the army to help out.