AS THE BACK-TO-SCHOOL period gets into full swing, thousands of students and their families are back on the roads or public transport in the early hours.

Parents have reported the challenge of getting their children to school due to congestion and a lack of a dedicated school bus service in some areas.

Go-Ahead told the Irish Times that the recent return of schools had “increased traffic volumes across the road network, resulting in additional congestion and impacting the punctuality of some services”.

Fine Gael TD Maeve O’Connell said that more should be done to establish a dedicated school bus plan in Dublin.

“Our public transport infrastructure is not yet developed enough for students and families to fully rely on it to get to school,” O’Connell said.

She pointed to schemes that operate in Belfast and London, which include either dedicated school buses or services specifically designed to serve school routes.

So, we wanted to know your thoughts.

Tell us: Do you think there should be a dedicated school bus plan in Dublin?