It is a whole safety and security package and will hopefully help persuade parents to send their children to school on the bus rather than the daily run in cars

Ian Davies, First

The buses are dedicated solely for the school. The company is in talks with about 30 councils in the UK and hopes to announce several more contracts.

Some local authorities have already introduced the distinctive from of transport.

Staffordshire County Council has an arrangement with American bus manufacturer Bluebird and has been using the vehicles for four years.

There are now 15 buses serving schools in the county and they are also used field trips and excursions.

Rural service

The Yorkshire scheme is a partnership between First, Calderdale Council and West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive.

Another project involving two secondary schools in Runnymede, Surrey, is expected to get under way next week.

Supporters of the scheme say the door-to-door services, a feature of rural America, could save some 27,000 car journeys a year.

First spokesman for Yorkshire, Ian Davies, said: "In the United States school buses are a symbol of safety to parents and indeed children.

"It works in the States and this pilot project in Heptonstall will demonstrate that it can work in the UK.

"It is not just about the vehicles, this is a whole new concept. A bus will be dedicated to a school, with the same driver every day.

Seat belts

"Children will get to know their driver and be picked up at a predetermined point.

"It is a whole safety and security package, and will hopefully help persuade parents to send their children to school on the bus rather than the daily run in cars."

He said the bus would help the environment by cutting down on exhaust emissions from those car journeys.

The single-deckers are fitted with extra-padded seats and seat belts.