Transport for Children of School Age

East Riding of Yorkshire Council is consulting on a potential increase in contribution charges and adding an annual Consumer Price Index increase for pupils who are not eligible for free home to school and college transport but are using spare seats on our contracted vehicles. 

Please note that the council has a budget to provide transport to pupils who are eligible for free home to school and college transport support, this consultation is not about charging for eligible pupils. 

The council has not increased the parental contribution since 2013, despite an increase in the cost of delivery. The average cost to the council of providing a seat on a contracted vehicle (including all types of vehicles) for a pupil for one academic year is now £1,000 per seat, but the council only charges £540 per academic year.

This is the same amount that has been charged since 2013 and means that for each seat taken up, the council subsidises the seat by £460 per academic year. We do not think this level of subsidy is sustainable in the long term, but we are also conscious that if we were to increase the costs to £1000 per annum the cost may be too high for some families. 

We have also carried out a benchmarking exercise against our statistical neighbours to be able to compare ourselves with similar local authorities.  

The average price across our statistical neighbours is £640 per year. 

We are therefore aware that the contribution needs to be increased as we are unable to maintain the current subsidy level. We are proposing to increase the contribution for pupils who are not entitled to free transport to £600. This would keep us under the average and would equate to £3.16 per day for a return journey. We believe this new price is competitive and comparable to public transport prices across our area. We are also proposing to introduce an annual Consumer Price Index increase.

We are proposing to increase the contribution to £600 from April 2022 and then each April thereafter to apply an increase to contribution in line with the annual Consumer Price Index. This would avoid any significant increases in future years but should make provision of the service more sustainable in both the short and long term.  For families on a low income there would be a 50% reduction, bringing the annual cost down to £300. 

To help in the decision making, we would like to gain your views, our survey should only take you a few minutes to complete. 

The link to access the survey is below:

Smartsurvey - Parental Contribution for Home to School and College Transport

The consultation closes on 13 February 2022.

The Local Authorities policy on home to school and college transport sets out who is eligible for free home to school transport including the arrangements for children with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities.  The policy complies with the law  including the Education Act 1996 and government guidelines.

For more information on home to school transport and to check if your child might be eligible please visit:

Free Transport Information page including the Eligibility Checker - East Riding of Yorkshire Website (external website)

Children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans may qualify for free home to school transport if:

• They are attending their nearest suitable school and it is beyond 2 miles if below the age of 8 or beyond 3 miles if aged between 8 and 16.

Or

• The Child cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school because of their mobility problems or because of associated health and safety issues related to their Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities.
  

Children/young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan do not have an automatic entitlement to free home to school transport, even if they attend a special school.

If you would like your child to attend a school that is not their nearest suitable school which can meet their need, the LA could agree to name this school in your child’s EHC Plan however this normally will be on the condition that you are responsible for transport costs.

For pupils who are eligible to free home to school transport the LA makes necessary travel arrangements. The transport can be provided in a number of different ways, including:

• A dedicated school bus
• A travel pass for use on public transport
• Taxi
• A Personal Travel Budget - More information can be found on the Personal Travel Budget Page
  

The LA aims to make travel arrangements for children with special educational needs as stress free as possible. The LA will endevour to:

• Make drivers and passenger assistants known to parents
• Avoid unnecessary changes of contracts/staff/transport
• Agree care plans for pupils with health needs, carry these on vehicles and ensure staff have suitable training
• Ensure journey times are as reasonable as possible
  

If you would like any further explanation or any other help/advice, please contact us:

Email: transport.requests@eastriding.gov.uk

It may be possible to purchase a pass for use on the bus or taxi if it is contracted by the authority for home to school transport and they have spare seats.

You can visit the East Riding website to apply for a school travel pass (external website)

The Director of Children Families and Schools may agree to the Council meeting the full costs of transport or paying part of the costs if he feels that there are special circumstances which justify making an exception.

You have to make your request in writing setting out your reasons.  You should include all relevent information about your children and your family circumstances and enclose any supporting documentation.

A form and guidance notes are avaliable from the admissions team on:

Email: school.admissions@eastriding.gov.uk

If the Director refuses home to school or college transport assistance you can lodge an appeal. All appeals are considered by the Council’s Appeals Committee.