Monday's stabbing (see Tuesday paper) is the umpteenth violent incident on a school bus. While one can have an endless discussion on who is responsible for this situation, the time has come for action rather than talk, in the interest of the safety and security of all occupants.

It must be obvious by now that certainly when transporting secondary school students, bus drivers no longer can be expected to maintain order by themselves. As the problems more and more involve the use of potentially deadly weapons, providing a security guard in the vehicle cannot be delayed anymore, because somebody is going to end up losing his or her life if nothing is done.

Of course, it's sad that it had to come to this and the same thing can be said for the use of metal detectors, spot-checks of bags and even body searches in extreme cases at local schools, but this is the reality society is facing. Efforts should continue to make especially parents take more responsibility for their offspring, but today's immediate threat must be dealt with.

There was a proposal for a school bus fee that never materialised due to its politically sensitive nature. Perhaps a contribution to better guarantee the safety of pupils using of this form of public transportation can be introduced instead.

One option is to see whether there are any human resources available within the Transportation and Control & Inspection Departments. If not, the project could be outsourced to one of the many well-established security firms on the island, by public bidding if possible to keep the cost down. It might be worth considering extending such a programme to buses that transport primary schoolchildren, also to help them cross the road if necessary and prevent a tragedy like the death of Silvia Lynch last year.

Some might argue that such a fee would affect only the low income groups that are already hurting due to the global financial-economic downturn, but this is where the solidarity principle comes in. Parents with school-going children who are in the favourable position of not depending on school bus service could be made to participate too, taking into account that they might one day need it as well and would surely want it to be safe for their children should that occur.

Enough is enough. Let's put security guards on school buses.