Funding for R4 bus service to be withdrawn
Rutland County Council says the service is 'not financially sustainable'
Rutland County Council is to withdraw funding for the R4 bus service between Uppingham and Peterborough, following a review.
The local authority claims the service is "not financially sustainable".
The public service, operated by Central Connect, carries between 11 and 13 children to The King’s School in Peterborough.
But, the council says the annual cost of subsidising the R4 service is £40,000 per year, which equates to more than £3,000 per passenger.
"not sustainable"
In a statement, it said it "has no statutory duty to provide this service, as attendance at The King’s School is based on parental choice and not entitled to free home to school transport.
"Maintaining this level of financial support for a small number of non-entitled students is not sustainable, especially in the context of wider budget pressures."
Councillor Christine Wise, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Communities at Rutland County Council, said: “As part of our recent Transport Network Review, all bus services across the County have been reviewed to make sure they’re affordable.
"We have a long-term plan to make bus travel more accessible and sustainable.
"To achieve this, we’ve had to take the difficult decision to withdraw funding for some services that are no longer viable.
"Our resources are finite and we need to invest this money in ways that allow more people to access public transport across the whole of Rutland.”
Funding will be withdrawn at the end of the current academic year (18 July 2025).
Although the current R4 provides a direct service to The King’s School, there is also a direct train service from Oakham to Peterborough.