A school bus driver has had a frightening start to the day when his vehicle caught fire.

The ferocious blaze tore through the bus in Perth’s northern suburbs while on the way to pick up children from Ballajura Community College for an excursion just after 9am on Thursday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Perth school bus erupts in flames before student pickup

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Security footage captured the moment the driver pulled over on Illawarra Cr.

“It was just a lot of smoke and fire happening and my mum called us, telling us that it was happening,” a witness told 7NEWS.

“I hope there’s no one in there that got burned or anything.”

The driver jumped out and tried to extinguish the blaze, but there was little he could do to stop it.

There was little left of the vehicle, with the seats, steering wheel and roof destroyed.

The driver was uninjured and there was no one else on board at the time.

Buswest says it is investigating. 

A school bus has burst into flames in Perth's north. Credit: 7NEWS

A school bus has burst into flames in Perth's north. Credit: 7NEWS