The Minister for Economy and Transport, Ieuan Wyn Jones, has put forward plans to improve school transport in Wales.
The draft Learner Travel (Wales) Measure was laid before the Assembly on the 15th of April.
The new laws will provide a framework to improve safety by tackling unacceptable behaviour, and local authorities will be asked to look at using CCTV cameras and escorts on school buses.
The Measure will also make school transport free for primary school children who live two miles or further from the nearest school. At present the law is three miles from the age of eight.
Local authorities will be allowed to change school start times in order to make transport arrangements more effective, efficient or environmentally stable.
The Minister said that he aimed to have the main provisions in place for the start of the academic year in 2009. He also said that it is his intention to seek further legislative power for the National Assembly to take further action on bus regulation and safety issues.
The proposed Measure can be downloaded from the National Assembly for Wales website.
The draft Measure was issued for consultation in June 2007, and was scrutinised by the National Assembly’s Enterprise and Learning Committee which published a report in November 2007.