Fears children in North Lanarkshire left crossing roundabouts to get to school
One parent was only told on Friday that her son won't qualify for a school bus next month.
Parents in North Lanarkshire say they've been left scrambling to try to find a way to get their kids to school safely when the new term starts next month.
Laura McBride got a letter from the council on Friday to say her son doesn't qualify for a bus from Dimsdale to Clyde Valley High School.
She told Greatest Hits Radio: "We are 1.6 miles away from the school and the walking route is ridiculous.
"There is no real footpath, there is no lighting and he can only walk through a field which is due to be turned into a graveyard.
"There are also no public buses which run directly to the high school which are useful to us.
"The only option would be for him to walk 20 minutes to the bus stop to get a public bus into Clyde Valley and I think that is too much for someone just starting first year."
The council has also decided not to run a bus service from Stepps to Chryston High in the new school year leaving some children walking next to a busy dual carriageway.
Lorraine Kerr's daughter will be starting there next month and she will have to drive her because she doesn't want her crossing busy roundabouts.
She said: "There are cars flying over a blind hill at speeds of 40 miles an hour and over.
"I think it's a terrible look to expect children as young as 11 walk two hours every day just to access their education."
A North Lanarkshire Council spokesperson said: At the budget meeting (2023-24), the council agreed to change the existing qualifying mileage limits for free mainstream school transport to save £3.6million against a backdrop of having to save £65million over the next three years.
"This means that the qualifying distance criteria for pupils requiring home-to-school transport (currently one mile for primary and two miles for secondary) will be changed in line with the majority of local authorities in Scotland. 27 of the 32 councils in Scotland have higher mileage limits than North Lanarkshire Council.
"A comprehensive assessment programme of all school walking routes was carried out by independent infrastructure specialists over the last six months. Parents asked us to review the outcome of some of these assessments, which we did and the route was deemed acceptable.
"By law parents and carers have a legal duty to ensure their child gets to school safely."