School bus routes at risk in Coventry
Almost 400 pupils at two faith schools in the city use coaches subsidised by the council.
Hundreds of Coventry children could lose their regular bus to school if council plans to withdraw funding for the routes go ahead.
Almost 400 pupils at two faith schools in the city, Bishop Ullathorne School and Blue Coat School, use coaches subsidised by the council.
The council stepped in to give the routes funding in 2020 after the company providing the buses went under.
But it is now proposing to remove financial support for the five routes which will save up to £220,000 per year, as part of a range of cuts to services which could be signed off next month.
A council report on the potential impact of the move said children who rely on the subsidised buses to faith schools will need to make “alternative arrangements.”
But news of the cut to the buses has sparked a backlash, with hundreds of people backing petitions calling for the services to be saved.
Appeals on the council website claim public buses used by schoolchildren in the city are already over-full and the move would add pressure to the system.
They also raise safeguarding fears including crime if children have to get to school via the city centre or travel back late at night.
One petition signed by over 500 people reads: “These bus provisions provided by the council are essential to safeguarding our children.
“Travelling home late at night, with the anxiety of not knowing how and when they will get home, will not benefit our children but hinder their growth.”
“The proposed cuts to the school buses listed above would add an additional 300 children to the public bus services, causing chaos and delaying children further from reaching their homes safely,” it added.
Another said there are “crime concerns regarding going via the city centre,” and pointed out there are “limited faith schools across the city.”
Earlier this year, the council warned it faced “tough options” for balancing its budget amid a range of pressures.
The move is part of a range of 18 cuts to services which would save almost £11 million, and could be signed off next month.
The council said today (26 January) that no other school buses in the city are funded this way and it was always a “short term solution.”
The authority added that it supports children across the city with free bus passes if they are eligible.
A spokesperson for Coventry City Council said: “Although one of a number of proposals that form part of our ongoing budget consultation, the council has never historically funded this service but stepped in during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure it was provided, initially using a grant.
“We fund no other school routes in this way, and this was always intended to be a short-term solution.
“Across the rest of the city, we meet our statutory duty for eligible pupils by buying a bus pass for eligible young people for them to use the existing bus network.
“Transport for West Midlands make regular checks on their buses to ensure appropriate capacity for passengers and the council would liaise with them in relation to any capacity issues.
“As a reminder, the budget consultation remains open until 7 February.”