'Parents are playing detective in battle for school bus passes'

Vic said she had spent time off work during the school holidays investigating the policy instead of being with her children

Parents claim they have had to "turn into detectives" when fighting for their children to receive a free bus pass after school transport policy was changed.

Secondary school pupils are entitled to free transport if they live over three miles (5km) from any school.

However, pupils starting school this week in North Yorkshire will only receive free travel to their nearest school instead of any which is within their catchment area.

The council admitted the new policy was "not generous", but was necessary to save money.

Three families living in villages near York told the BBC the decision had caused "worry" and "dismay" during the summer holidays.

'Communication failure'

Ruth, who lives in Appleton Roebuck, said she found out about the changes in May because "a WhatsApp group of parents started kicking off".

"The email went to my junk inbox."

According to North Yorkshire Council, she lives 0.004 miles (6.4 metres) closer to Millthorpe School in York than to Tadcaster Grammar School.

Her son Henry, 11, is not eligible for a free pass for the school bus from the village to Tadcaster Grammar, where he has a place.

"All the children (in Appleton Roebuck) have always gone to Tadcaster. There's no historic ties to any school in York and there's no transport to any school in York," she said.

Ruth said out-of-date information on council mapping software meant her son Henry was not eligible for a free bus pass

The distance calculated by North Yorkshire Council is based on a road entrance to Tadcaster Grammar, but Ruth, who is a GP, discovered a pedestrian gate which made it the closest school by 27 metres.

However, she said officials stated that the school "had not informed the council of this gate being put in more than five years ago".

"When they applied the policy, the gate - in their knowledge - didn't exist, so despite the gate being present, it doesn't matter, you lose your appeal."

She said the authority planned to update its mapping software, but in the meantime, she has had to pay for a bus pass for Henry.

"That failure in communication apparently is not their fault and I have to bear the brunt of that as a parent, which is £818 this year."

Her stage two appeal was unsuccessful, with the authority saying it did not accept that parents were unaware of the policy when applying for school places.

She added: "Yet it's OK for them to have not communicated with the school around a gate.

"It seems like it's one rule for one and one rule for another."

She said during the appeal, it felt like the five councillors hearing the case saw it as a "done deal".

"This is days of effort that have gone into unpicking, investigating and putting forward my case.

"For them only to ask one or two questions in the appeal process feels like they didn't really want to unpick my case."

One place for twins

Vic, who also lives in Appleton Roebuck, said the appeal process had been a "cloud hanging over us all summer".

Her twin son and daughter are also attending Tadcaster Grammar, where she said a bus had been transporting children from the village for "about 30 years".

She said her stage one appeal was unsuccessful on the basis that there were "places available" at Millthorpe on national offer day.

"Parents really had to turn into detectives over this policy and continue to do so," she said.

"We've evidenced in multiple ways that Millthorpe had one place available on national offer day."

She said it was "really frustrating" that the same argument had not only been used for her two children, but for about 10 other families.

Finley and Annabelle said senior councillors should "have a long hard think" about the impact of the policy

Vic said concerns had been raised by people in the village who were not directly affected, about the impact of the policy on the wider community.

"If there is no easy way to get your child to school it will definitely affect young families moving into the area," she claimed.

"It will affect house prices directly."

Finley, 11, said he and his twin sister Annabelle had been "worrying a bit when Mum and Dad are sitting behind the computer" working on the appeal case.

Annabelle said the policy "felt a bit unfair".

Under the council's scheme, children with a paid-for pass could lose their seat on a school bus at a week's notice if someone eligible for free travel moves to the area.

"If we just get kicked off and have to take a taxi or parents have to drive us every day, we're not going to get that experience of going on the bus, being with your friends, it'd be way more difficult for parents and everyone," Finley said.

Annabelle wanted councillors to "think about all the emotions they are inflicting on families".

'Bonkers' alternative

Eleven-year-old Ciel caught a bus to primary school, because her village of Bilbrough is too small to have its own.

"It's really nice to chat with your friends before you do schoolwork and to be able to just relax a bit and maybe talk about subjects and stuff."

She thought the change in policy was "a little bit unfair for people who were expecting to get" bus passes.

Kathy said it was "really frustrating" that she could not reassure her daughter Ciel

Ciel's mother Kathy, who owns an education business, said the communication about the policy was hampered because her primary school was over the local authority border in York. Bilbrough is part of the old Selby district that has now passed to North Yorkshire Council.

She said the council "forgot" to notify primary schools run by neighbouring City of York Council about the changes.

She also thought the alternative to a school bus to Tadcaster was "bonkers".

As the family live more than three miles from any secondary school, transport would be funded to Millthorpe if Ciel had a place there, but Kathy said this would be in the form of an individual taxi.

"That's not going to save cost, it's going to have an impact environmentally and it's also going to break up friendship groups for young people who've spent the last seven years of primary school together," she added.

"The catchment rule worked perfectly for these rural villages."

'Cost-effective' transport

North Yorkshire Council was approached for comment on Vic, Ruth and Kathy's cases and has not yet responded.

However, the authority has previously said the new policy would save £4m and that it could not afford a "more generous policy" due to financial constraints.

Amanda Fielding, assistant director for inclusion at North Yorkshire Council, said the change in policy over home to school transport had proved unavoidable.

"Our home to school transport policy is designed to be fair and consistent for families across North Yorkshire.

"We are one of the highest spending local authorities in the country on home to school transport.

"If we had done nothing, the rising cost of home to school travel could have a crippling effect on the other services we must deliver by law.

"The previous eligibility under the 'catchment' criteria was a discretionary provision.

"We have a responsibility to arrange transport for pupils who are eligible for free home to school travel. Therefore, we will put in place the most cost-effective and appropriate transport options for them.

"In the same way as previous years, this may result in spaces being available to buy for parents of children who are not eligible for free travel to and from school."

Those pupils who had historically been allocated free bus passes would not be affected by the change in policy, the council said.

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