Norman Baker MP Member of Parliament for Lewes constituency
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Norman Baker,
23 East Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex,
BN7 2LJ.
Tel: (01273) 480281.
Fax: (01273) 480287.
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MP slams increase in school bus fares from 35p to £2.37
Bus fares on the school run from East Chiltington to Chailey secondary school are rising from 35p a day to £2.37 and parents aren’t happy. In response to complaints, the County Council has said that the route is a safe one for children to walk, even though most of the route has been classified as unsafe for children coming from Plumpton. A number of parents have now contacted local MP Norman Baker to ask for his help.
The massive increase has been caused by the replacement of a commercial bus service run by RDH with a dedicated school service operated by Regency Travel. Because the service is now officially a school as opposed to a commercial service, the average county price is applied to the journey, £150 a term for a pass, equivalent to £2.37 a day. A further problem is that daily tickets are no longer available, meaning that the flexibility parents had to put their child on the bus some days, and walk with them or drive them on other days, has been lost.
Local parents appealed to the County that the official walking route to the school was unsafe to walk, which would in turn trigger free travel, but the council has now concluded that it is perfectly safe, even though what is largely the same route has been ruled unsafe for children from Plumpton.
Norman Baker says: “I am not surprised that parents are outraged at this situation, both at the massive hike in charges, and the inconsistency of approach about what is or isn’t a safe route. The County Council should reinstate the previous commercial service, which was operating to the satisfaction of local parents. If that cannot be done, then the County Council should accept what everybody else does, namely that the route to school is not safe, and that free transport should be provided.”
Local district councillor Sarah Osborne adds: “No parent minds making a contribution, including myself, but the amount demanded by the county council is prohibitive and beyond the means of the average parent. The likely outcome is that, if nothing changes, more and more parents will simply drive their children to school, which is bad for the children and bad for the environment.”