An increase to the cost of home to school transport has been announced within a release by the council about how to apply for spare seat on school buses. Ed
The application process for school transport ‘privilege’ seats is now open. Parents of children that are not entitled to a seat on council-provided school bus transport can apply for a ‘privilege seat’ until midday on 7 July.
In the past, these spare seats have been offered on a ‘first-come-first-served’ basis, however, from September 2016 the seats will be offered via a randomised ‘lottery’ process. All parents/carers who wish their child(ren) to be entered into the process should apply online via the council’s Website.
First rise of fees in six years
If a child is selected, at random, to be offered a privilege seat, the fee for this for the 2016/17 academic year will be £95 per term (previously £63 per term).
Councillor Shirley Smart, Executive Member for Transport, said:
“The former process was operated on a first-come-first-served basis, which was felt to be unfair. The new process of random selection will offer more fairness to Island parents and carers to obtain a privilege seat, while one is available, to assist them with getting their children to school safely; alongside the council’s statutory duty to provide such a service to entitled children.”
The spare seat policy
Local Authorities have a statutory duty to provide appropriate school transport for ‘entitled’ children. It is the responsibility of parent/carers to ensure the safe passage of children to and from school.
The Isle of Wight Council has, for a number of years, operated a ‘spare seat’ opportunity for ‘unentitled’ children to obtain a place on a school bus, where spare seats exist. This is not a statutory service that the council must provide; it is a sensible approach to filling the unused spaces on buses that are not running at full capacity.
Image: © Southern Vectis
