PARENTS whose children go to Selwood Academy in Frome are in uproar after news that Somerset County Council has hiked up the school bus fare by over 100%.
From September, children who will be starting at Selwood Academy and live under three miles away from the school will see the price for a seat on the school bus increase from £325 to £675 a year.
One parent who lives in Beckington says if parents can’t afford to pay £675, children may have to walk to school, along a route she says is unsafe and dangerous.
Ann Zakaszewska said, “The council assess the route from Beckington to Selwood Academy as safe, despite the route involving walking along country roads in the dark in winter and crossing a busy main road. This means the Beckington residents who live only metres below the three mile threshold are charged for the bus.
“As if this wasn’t enough, this year the council has increased the fee from £325 to £675 for new applicants only, which is financially crippling to families who are already on a tight budget.
“The rules concerning transport (for children over nine years-old) state that free transport must be provided if a child lives more than three miles from their nearest school, or if the route is deemed to be unsafe. Until a few years ago this meant that the majority of residents in Beckington were provided with free transport for their child to Selwood.
“Several years ago the council built a new footpath by Selwood reducing the walking distance, this means that now roughly half the village is provided with free transport, with the other half having to pay, often when they live just metres below the threshold.
“As a parent with two children at the school this is totally unaffordable so we will have to find an alternative solution. To complicate matters, we have a third child who attends Rode school which has similar start and finish times.
“The most infuriating aspect is that the council should provide a free bus if the route is deemed to be unsafe, however the council’s risk assessment deems the route as suitable. Many of the children will be just nine years-old when they start school, yet the council expect them to walk three miles along country roads without a proper pavement, for many months in the dark.”
A spokesperson for Somerset County Council said, “We provide school transport to children across the county. The fees for children who are not entitled to free school transport have been brought in line to one rate of £675 to make it fair for all parents. We do offer a reduced rate of £330 to families on low incomes, following an assessment of their financial circumstances.
“The fees have been increased to one flat rate following a public consultation towards the end of 2015. The council is under increased financial pressure because of reduced funding from government, inflation and demographic growth. Unfortunately the council has no choice but to increase fees to cover the cost of school transport and continues to prioritise spending to protect children and support vulnerable adults.”
Somerset County Council also said the fee increase was discussed at a public consultation. The council says that notice of the public consultation was sent to parents who currently pay for school transport towards the end of 2015 and was publicised in the local press and information was sent to parish councils.
Ann added, “I’ve lived in the village since the beginning of last October but was never informed of any public consultation. I have been told by another resident that they were told that there would be an increase, but not that it would be that much. If the council had only told existing bus users then that’s a massive oversight as it’s new users that will be most affected.
“The most significant thing for me is the safety of the route. I’m incredulous that the council think it’s safe for children to walk along country roads in the dark. All of the residents that I’ve spoken to would not let their child walk the route, so we’re forced to pay the fee or find alternative means.”
