YOUNGSTERS had a special travelling companion on their school bus.
Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman joined pupils from Bradley Infant and Nursery and Bradley Junior schools on the yellow bus which serves the area.
He rode with the pupils for part of their journey home before leaving the bus at Bradley Mills.
The American-style bus started serving schools in Bradley at the start of this year.
It was introduced after a successful pilot scheme in nearby Rawthorpe started in September, 2003.
Mr Sheerman is chairman of the all-party Commons Education and Skills Committee and has been looking into school transport.
Metro asked him to visit Bradley to publicise the fact that transport chiefs are extending the yellow bus scheme across West Yorkshire.
Metro has just announced that it has secured £18.7m from the Government's Transport Department to pay for its plans.
An order has been placed with motor manufacturers BMC UK for 30 of the buses.
By January, 41 more secondary schools in West Yorkshire will have yellow buses.
* Yellow buses are an American idea and are thought to be safer than ordinary buses.
* They are highly visible, single- deck and have extra safety exits in the roof.
* Each pupil is given their own seat - with a seatbelt.
* The buses have onboard CCTV and radio/CD players.
* Pupils must register to use the bus and tell Metro if they are not going to be using it on a particular day. This means drivers can ensure that only pupils travel on the bus, reducing the risk of "stranger danger".
