Uncertainty for Kent students as operators plan to axe some school bus routes within weeks

• Report by ITV Meridian's Sarah Saunders

Bus companies are planning to axe some school bus routes in Kent within weeks, saying they can't maintain loss-making services unless they are subsidised.

Kent County Council (KCC) says some bus operators had planned to stop running school routes that were economically unviable caused by lower passenger numbers, rising costs and driver shortages.

KCC said it does not subsidise or control these services and, because of financial difficulties, it can't provide large-scale, long-term additional subsidies to bus operators.

The authority says, after negotiating with bus operators - it has saved some of the services, but not all of them.

Parents have been left confused and concerned about how their children are going to get to school.

Speaking about his son, Dominic Meehan, parent, said: "He's obviously highly anxious starting a new school and he doesn't know at this point how he's going to get to school.

"We don't know if we're going to be able to get him to school and there must be many thousands of parents that are in that position.

"There's been no information, no transparency either with heads or with families, and has left all of us in a position where we just don't know what we're doing. It's a disgrace."

• Parent Dominic Meehan

Stagecoach Bus

Stagecoach Bus says the government has asked bus operators to work with councils and identify services that can't carry on running without support funding.

It added there will be no changes to its buses in the Dover and Deal area before October half term and that its teams are working with KCC to protect core services.

A spokesperson said: "Most school-time services that we operate in Kent are provided on a commercial basis, so they don’t attract any specific support funding. 

"Where school-time services are affected, they are carefully considered and discussed with KCC, with reference to loading patterns and alternative bus or other travel options.

"Where we do have to make changes, they will be communicated to local schools well in advance."

Arriva

Some Arriva school bus services will also be affected for instance the 155 which will not be running from next week.

Arriva say Nu Venture are operating a replacement service covering some of the old 155 school journeys.

It added some school specific journeys will end in October with more information to follow.

A spokesperson said: "The majority of the changes we are due to make in October are changes to frequency and service level, rather than complete withdrawal of a service.

"Withdrawal of a service is a last resort and it is not a decision we take lightly, and we will only do this after fully exploring all other available options."

Kent County Council's response

Kent County Council (KCC) says it has worked with commercial bus operators to secure school bus services but not all of them.

The discussions mean bus operators will maintain school transport options for schools in Maidstone from the Aylesford area.

There is also an alternative network of buses taking children from the Sevenoaks area to Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

KCC says it is continuing to explore opportunities with bus operators.

KCC's Leader, Roger Gough, said: "We recognised that the scale of the changes planned by operators would have a serious impact on the ability of many pupils to get to and from school independently this September.

"That is why I tasked our dedicated public transport team to work with operators to find ways to secure school bus routes for as many pupils as possible.

"Together, they have done a tremendous job of turning round a worrying situation for families in some parts of the county and offering a range of services that enable as many pupils as possible to access school bus routes from September.

"Despite best efforts, we know that there will still be some service gaps, but unfortunately the council is not in a financial position to adopt the services which operators are looking to withdraw.

"However, I hope our work so far will give Kent residents confidence that we will continue to work in partnership with operators to deliver the best outcomes possible for communities."

KCC has also planned to withdraw subsidies from a smaller number of bus routes, in line with its approved budget but these plans are on hold.

It's also been confirmed more than 600 people, employed by the Kent based bus company Arriva, will go on strike on Monday in a dispute over pay.

It comes after the workers, who are members of the Unite union - turned down a pay increase offer of around 10%.

It's the first of four days of action throughout September.

Those taking part operate from depots in Gillingham, Maidstone, Gravesend and Tunbridge Wells.