Safety Bus

Priority is given to vulnerable students and First Aid cases. All areas of campus will only be eligible for pick-up/drop-off in exceptional circumstances.

The section of students who are eligible, in order of priority, include:

 

• Off-campus, students who have severe difficulty getting home due to medical problems (first aid/medical cases).
• On-campus students who have severe difficulty getting home due to medical problems (first aid/medical cases)
• On or Off-campus, unaccompanied females
• On or Off-campus, unaccompanied males
• On or Off-campus, small groups of females
• On or Off-campus, small groups of males

The remaining categories (inc. campus-based), all have equal priority beneath these named groups.  On-duty staff members are eligible to use the bus after their shift following prior agreement and arrangement through their line manager, the Duty Manager and with the driver/s. The staff run normally leaves 30 minutes after building closing time. 

Students must not enter the bus without prior permission from the driver and or security/steward personnel on the driver’s behalf. Refusal of use can be on the grounds as follows:

 

• There is no space.
• There are more vulnerable members who require use of the service (see above).
• The student has been verbally or physically assaulting staff or students.
• The person is not a member of Keele SU.
• The student is currently banned or pending a disciplinary hearing from the Students Union.
• The student could be considered unsafe, e.g. is too intoxicated, and believed of being under the influence of an illegal substance.
• The person is using the service as a free taxi service rather than a means to get home. The safety bus will only drop Keele students off at home addresses.

Students are expected to be courteous to staff running the service and other students using the service and abide by the following rules:

 

• No food or drink is allowed to be consumed whilst on the bus. 
• It is against the law to smoke on the minibus.
• Students must not distract the driver or open doors whilst the vehicle is in motion. 
• Students must wear seatbelts at all times (under UK law anyone over the age of 14 takes sole responsibility for wearing a seatbelt).

Keele SU reserve the right to impose an immediate £25 fine for people vomiting or causing damage to on the bus to cover cleaning costs. Failure to pay the fine when imposed will result in been banned to disciplinary in accordance with Keele SU  policy. Persons will be immediately banned to disciplinary if the cost of any damage is greater than £25. Keele SU reserve the right to refuse access to the bus at any time and will remove any student from the bus if they contravene SU policy.  Any individual whom is considered to be putting the safety of other passengers, or the driver, at risk, will be removed as soon as possible and police involvement may pursue. Any breaches of this policy and the individual will be banned to Keele SU disciplinary and a ban from using the service may be imposed.

The driver will endeavour to get as close as possible to the home address for off-campus students, however, this is not always possible. KeeleSU or their staff is not responsible for users making their way home from the drop-off point/s. 

• The safety bus pick up point on campus is the Students’ Union main car park. 

Day	N.o of buses	Start	Finish
Monday	1	9pm	Half Hour After Building Close
Tuesday	1	9pm	Half Hour After Building Close
Wednesday	3	9pm	3.30am
Thursday	1	9pm	Half Hour After Building Close
Friday	3	9pm	3.30am
Saturday	1	9pm	Half Hour After Building Close
Sunday	1	9pm	Half Hour After Building Close

The above are subject to change and may not run each week. Please check running time on all occasions. The service only runs during semester time.

On a Mon, Wed and Fri one of the buses will operate as a dedicated First Aid bus and also only completed on campus trips.

 

KeeleSU will endeavour to provide the service, as defined, when possible and necessary; however, there may be occasions when the service cannot be provided for whatever reason or is not in great enough demand.  If this occurs KeeleSU will try and give as much notice, as it is possible to give.  KeeleSU will also endeavour to display a timetable of the safety bus running times, for an evening, on the evening itself. KeeleSU reserves the right to stop the service immediately and without notice if there is a mechanical or safety problem with the buses. Also, it may stop the service due to weather conditions that make it unsafe to operate (e.g heavy snow or ice). Students and staff should always double check if the bus is running before presuming that it is. Please contact a member of security for information on if it is running. (Security office: 01782 733720) The safety bus will be picking up and dropping off throughout the night and so may be absent, from the Students’ Union, at various times.  Those who wish to use the bus must wait for it to return and can seek advice from KeeleSU Security personnel on the matter. KeeleSU staff who have arranged to use the service at the end of their shift will be taken home according to the driver.

Before 00:00 the safety bus is permitted to operate within a 5 mile radius as shown by the larger circle on the map below. After 00:00 until the end of the shift the safety bus is permitted to operate within a 3 mile radius as shown by the smaller circle on the map below. This reduction is to reflect increased demand after midnight, especially on busy nights.