Parents of students who rely on the school bus spare seat scheme or the post 16 spare seat scheme have received a letter from Westmorland and Furness Council informing them that the cost of the service will increase by 30% per student putting the annual cost per student at £655.60.
Parents of students who don’t qualify for the free school bus service can if a school bus operating locally has a spare seat, request to be considered to use the space to get their child to school.
Students over 16 don’t qualify for free school bus transport but can also request to access any free spaces on a school bus.
The letter sent to parents by the council states that “from September 2024 the Spare Seat Scheme and Post 16 Spare Seat Scheme annual cost will increase by 30% to £655.60 per person. After much deliberation, it has been deemed necessary to increase the cost of the scheme to align with the rising of costs within the transport industry and to bring us in-line with other local authorities and their charges.
We understand that this is a substantial increase to the current Spare Seat Scheme annual cost, so this correspondence is intended to provide you with as much notice as possible. If you do have any questions or concerns regarding the increase, please contact the Westmorland & Furness Council Home to School Transport Team.”
One of the parents that contacted Penrith.Town this week after receiving the letter from Westmorland and Furness Council said “the increase on its own is bad enough but when you have two children that use the service to get to school each day, that due to a line on a map can’t access the free service yet their school friends a bit further away from that line on a map can get a free bus to school we will have to pay over £1,300 for that same bus it’s just not right. These costs will mean we have to drive our children to school every day taking a car into Penrith and impact our job working hours and do the same at the end of the school day while the same bus goes along the road with empty seats.”
A council spokesperson, speaking with us about the concerns raised by parents who had received the letter said “As a council we have a statutory responsibility to provide free home to school transport for qualifying students. In Westmorland and Furness we provide free home to school transport for eligible pupils of statutory school age, to their nearest or catchment school, and this has not changed.”
“For those that do not have a statutory entitlement to transport and therefore do not qualify for free transport, the Council can offer, in certain circumstances, a discretionary seat on contracted routes where there are “spare seats” available, these seats are not guaranteed.”
“The cost of the council providing a spare seat is reviewed annually as part of the Council’s overall approach to ‘fees and charges’ for the services it provides. As a non-statutory service, the council has the discretion to charge an economically viable rate for this service. The Council recognises that some parents/carers will be disappointed with this price increase, and this is not a decision that has been taken lightly.”
“The true cost of a seat has been historically low in our area for many years, and with ever-rising transport and fuel costs, the annual cost of a seat purchased under the spare seat scheme will increase by £151 per year to £655.60 from the start of the new term in September 2024. This means the daily cost of travel will be £3.45 which is in line with comparable journeys on commercial bus routes or individual schools who make their own private transport arrangements, and also and other rural local authorities, many of whom charge more than this.”
“For students in mainstream Post 16 Education from September, support to cover transport costs is available through the Student Support Fund, the 16 to 19 Transport Bursary Scheme, or through their school.”
More information on Home to School transport can be found on the council website via https://goto.penrith.town/school-transport-post-16
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