TRANSLINK say that “confusion” was the reason behind three Coláiste Feirste pupils not being able to board a bus from Crumlin to their Falls Road school.
On Monday the public transport provider said it was “investigating reports of an incident involving the 106 bus service this morning”.
Translink launched the investigation after West Belfast MLA Aisling Reilly wrote to Translink raising concerns about the incident.
The Sinn Féin woman said: “Three young people were left standing on the side of the road on a dark, cold morning with no transport."
A Translink spokesperson said: “We are committed to delivering the highest standards of customer care and provide thousands of journeys transporting pupils safely to and from school every day.
“Due to high demand, we offer a number of services at peak times from Crumlin to Belfast in order to best serve school pupils and the wider public.
“There are three services between 7.30am and 7.36am available to cater for pupils attending schools in the Falls Road area and, for pupils who need to travel further, there is one bus that extends through Belfast city centre.
“Our investigation has determined that the driver communicated with pupils in order to manage the allocation of pupils across services, to manage capacity and specific destination requirements for the three buses coming behind – this is a longstanding practice.
“We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.”
