Agenda item

Report to be presented by Neil Beswick, Head of Client Transport, Transport Services (Buckinghamshire Council) - included in the agenda pack.

Questions/Consider recommendations and agree next steps - To be led by Cllr Matthew Walsh.

Neil Beswick (NB), Head of Client Transport, Buckinghamshire Council, referred to the petition report included in the Agenda pack.

A petition was submitted by the parents of students from the Princes Risborough area attending Lord Williams School in Thame.

The petition requested that the council arrange transport for students to school after the withdrawal of a commercially operated local bus service that students previously travelled on. This service was partially funded by Oxfordshire County Council to Lord Williams School.

The students concerned are not eligible for council funded transport as described under Buckinghamshire Council’s Home to School Transport Policy as they are not attending their nearest suitable school.

However, in early October 2023, Oxfordshire County Council informed the Buckinghamshire Council (BC) that the transport operator who had originally won their tender had decided that they didn’t wish to continue after the half term break, and the contract would be awarded to Redline, the previous operator who had provided the commercial extension of the route from Princes Risborough.

Question: A parent asked for clarification in that BC had managed to get an extension for the same group of children within this area to board on the existing route.  NB said that the operator who had taken up the contract had now reinstated what was previously there because BC made them aware of the interest and that this was a commercial opportunity for them.

Residents believed this was not correct because the previous solution that was in place was that there were several buses which collected the children from Chinnor, they come through the Aylesbury area, onto Princes Risborough, through Longwick and then go to Chinnor to pick up those children. This was the bus route that local children boarded. This was not the service that was working now. Currently, there was a single bus for the local children alone and residents wanted to talk about that because there was a concern over sustainability from an environment point of view and funding. This was the third time this situation had happened where the bus had been terminated, so assurances were required that this would not happen again. There was added stress not knowing if the service would continue and how their children would get to Lord Williams. It was felt that all pupils should be treated as eligible and considered as important. If there was transport in Longwick it would not be an issue.

Question: Are there any regulations to put a cap on the cost of school transport as the operator increased the cost to another £100 per term. Parents were being charged £1,000 per year, but parents were technically paying more because the service started mid half term and was £200 to £300 more than other routes when their route was the shortest. Parents understood that it came down to commercial viability but would like BC to review this.

Answer: NB advised that he was aware that for routes in the South of County, parents were paying £1,400 per annum. Operators were struggling with a shortage of bus drivers and fuel costs had gone up, so BC try to assist in placing eligible students on the bus, but where there’s a commercial offer, the operator will set his own price.

Question: This was understood by parents but they wondered if there were other options where other buses could divert, just in case there were any future problems with Redline. The service was working well at the moment, but were there other options where other buses could divert, as parents were concerned that the service would be pulled again and parents would find themselves in the same position again.

Answer:. NB advised that BC liaised with Redline buses on a regular basis and had a working relationship with them. He would know if and when any problems arose.

Question: Why is there not a bus route from Risborough to Thame? Why is there nothing that comes through Longwick?

Answer: MW confirmed that he spoken to James Loader. He also said that Longwick had received half a million due to housing re-devlopment, but in bus terms, this was not alot of money. There was an agreement that there would be a meeting between the three Ward Members (MW, Gary Hall and Alan Turner), James and NB to see if other schemes could be enhanced. MW thanked NB for his involvement in helping to resolve this, and thought a good job had been done by the parents and the action group in making sure something happened. MW acknowledged that parents needed to be reassured that they would not find themselves in this situation in the future.  This petition had highlighted the difficulties being experienced and MW said we would work together to look at solutions/options. Action: MW: To review future bus options and solutions.

Jim Stevens introduced himself as the Chair for the Transport and Road Issues Action Group. JS advised that the group empathised with the issues raised in the petition and said that he also spoke to NB about it. He also appreciated that further concerns had been raised and that these would be reviewed by Ward Members and others. He also thanked NB for adhering to the Home to School Transport Policy, and more importantly, went over and above to look at a way forward, which didn’t undermine this policy, but tried to achieve something for residents which he succeeded in doing.