Fuel supply issues disrupting school transport according to Tring coach company

School children are arriving to school, and home, late because of traffic

Author: Scarlett Bawden-GaulPublished 30th Sep 2021

A Tring coach company has said the knock on affect of the fuel supply issue is making children late to school.

Over the weekend many service stations were overwhelmed with people trying to fill up their tanks, concerned about a lack of fuel.

The real issue was a potential lack of drivers to transport the fuel to the stations, with fuel levels in the country at a standard level.

The over buying of fuel has seen some school transport services in Buckinghamshire cancelled and the introduction of priority fuel permits from the council.

Masons Minibus and Coach Hire Ltd has said the difficulty isn't limited to getting fuel though, its the issues with traffic.

Candice from the company says the disruption isn't fair on school children:

"Our children are just not getting to school on time and given they have been in and out of lockdown for many months we really need to think about their education and it not being interrupted anymore.

"It's also difficult on the way home, children are having to sit through long journeys and that isn't fair.

"I would say its incredibly stressful for everyone involved though. Parents are worried in the morning is their children are going to get to school on time, that they're having to go on lengthy journeys.

"We have members of staff who are unable to get to us to drive the coaches because of fuel issues and then some who cant get to their second jobs because they're stuck in traffic.

"It's been very difficult to be able to communicate these issues as well because everyday it is something slightly different."

Regular impacts to journeys like road closures and construction work arebeing made worse by this traffic issue according to Candice.

She told Greatest Hits there is a particular issue with Aylesbury recently:

"We have been operating school services through the town for several years and I have never seen traffic as bad as it have been recently.

"The first two weeks of this term were so bad we altered all of our timetable, so started picking up the children earlier

"It is not fair to have to alter them again, its logistically difficult for families to have to manage changes but also then you have children on coaches for hours trying to get to school which is just not appropriate."

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