Police and bus officials have noticed a slight improvement in students' behaviour at the city's bus terminal.

Public Transportation Board director Herman Basden told The Royal Gazette there had been fewer fights and other disruptive incidents involving students at the infamous trouble spot over the past school year.

This was confirmed by Police spokesman P.c. Gary Venning who noted that out of some 30 incidents at the terminal since July, last year, only half a dozen involved youths.

"I think the number of incidents with what we call a proper disturbance seems to be low,'' he said. "We still get silly disturbances. But I don't see so many fights involving kids.'' P.c. Venning said he hoped that increased Police presence in the area during evenings helped deter unruly behaviour.

While Mr. Basden did not have PTB statistics on incidents at the bus terminal, he attributed the "marginal'' improvement to involvement from educators.

"I know that Chief Education Officer Joseph Christopher had spoken to a number of principals during the early part of the year,'' he said. "And some principals addressed the issue during school assemblies.

"Apparently it is moving in the right direction. We have not had as many fights.'' Association of School Principals president Livingston Tuzo said the association had not discussed the matter, but individual principals often discussed it with students.

"The secondary schools I would think emphasised it more than the primary schools,'' he said. "But I know during primary school assemblies principals stressed the importance of students getting on the buses and going straight home.'' The Victor Scott principal said students usually witnessed or became involved in incidents at the bus terminal while waiting to transfer to other buses.

Therefore, Mr. Tuzo added, Victor Scott encouraged its students to catch the bus at the Palmetto Road bus station instead of in Hamilton.

"Many of the problems do not come from school children,'' he added. "It is usually people who hang around there. But school children witness the incidents.'' When contacted yesterday, Dr. Christopher said he was not aware of a decrease in the number of incidents at the Hamilton bus terminal.

However, he said the Ministry of Education was increasing its efforts to help principals set out standards of behaviour for students outside the school.

"That is why we are sending copies of the Code of Conduct to parents,'' Dr.

Christopher noted.

The Code, released last month, states that students "must not, while on the school premises or in uniform on the way to or from school premises or at any school function, whenever or wherever held, act in a manner that will cause intentional harm to others and/or school property''.

Students who breach the policy can be reported to Police and suspended for five to 40 days from school.

A repeat of a similar incident could end in expulsion.

While noting the decrease in major incidents at the terminal, Mr. Basden admitted that the problem of students scrawling graffiti inside buses was an ongoing one for PTB.

Responding to a passenger's recent complaint to The Royal Gazette about the condition of one bus which was on the number three Middle Road, Devonshire route, he said: "I have asked the maintenance section to look into it. They know that there is graffiti at the back of the buses from school kids. But I'm not going to respond to complaints from people who call The Royal Gazette and do not bother to contact us.

"There has been graffiti on buses for the past 20 years and a fair degree of vandalism.'' And while Mr. Basden admitted that the graffiti problem persisted, he said it was not as bad as in the past.

He noted that he could not provide a figure for bus repairs due to graffiti and vandalism until the end of the fiscal year.

But he added: "I'm optimistic that it is less than $100,000 (as in previous years) and the graffiti, though still with us, is down.'' CRIME CRM