Bid to overturn new school bus charges
A CALL is being made for Highland Council to reverse new transport charges which were introduced this year for some school pupils.
It comes from Landward Caithness councillor Alex MacLeod who has received "a flood of complaints" from parents "furious" about the policy.
They are unhappy youngsters on concessionary fares have to pay £1 a day or £190 a year to get back and fore to school. Only pupils who live more than three miles from their school get free transport. However, until this month youngsters within the three-mile limit were allowed to use buses without charge if there was a spare seat but that rule has been changed.
The move was introduced to as part of savings agreed by the local authority during budget negotiations in February. It is estimated the changes will result in savings of around £80,000.
"The justification given for this policy is that it all help address budget overspends, but in reality it is highly punitive, and it hits Caithness the hardest because so many of our rural children rely on school transport.
It is yet another example of policy-making which makes it harder – not simpler – to live in a remote or rural area. It’s another barrier thrown up to make rural living more inaccessible, and parents are furious about it," said Mr MacLeod.
"I have received a flood of complaints from Caithness parents about new school transport charges which have been introduced this year. From now on, parents of children who were riding in concessionary transport now have to pay £1 a day," he continued.
Mr MacLeod is also concerned about the safety aspect of the move if the pupils have to walk to and from school.
"Child safety should be our number one priority, and I don’t even want to think about an accident occurring as a result of this policy. Because Caithness parents have been so vocal, I have decided to act.
"I raised the issue at the last meeting of the education committee, calling for a reversal of policy. I received a very encouraging response from the chairman, who indicated that he is willing to work with concerned councillors to make a change.
"My main priority now is seeing that policy change realised in the next year, so we can banish these charges," added Mr MacLeod.
A spokeswoman for Highland Council said: "All we can say is that the decision to introduce the concessionary charge was made in February as part of its budget-setting process."
Meanwhile, a plan to issue passes for school transport to all pupils who are entitled to free transport on Stagecoach services has encountered technical difficulties.
Staff from Stagecoach are aware of the situation and will pick up and drop off all entitled pupils, even if they are not carrying a pass card. Other bus providers are also aware of the problem and will not ask to see pass cards.
"Parents who have paid for concessionary places will have received a letter to confirm receipt of their payment and this letter should be shown as proof of entitlement until August 30 when named cards will be issued," said the spokeswoman.