'Families should move to avoid school run issues'

A Conservative member of Gloucestershire County Council has said it is not economical to improve bus links in rural areas

Families who are struggling to get their children to school due to overcrowded rural buses should move, according to a councillor.

Concerns were raised at a Gloucestershire County Council meeting on 15 January that children were being left on the side of verges because there were no spaces on buses.

Councillor Wendy Thomas has said it is a "huge issue" in several places.

However, councillor Brian Tipper claimed it is not up to the council to ensure every child can travel to school, and parents should consider transport before moving to rural areas.

Ms Thomas said: "In my division, I'm getting a lot of blowback about overcrowded services," she said. "To the point where school children are being left on the side of verges in rural villages like Nympsfield.

"This is because they are denied boarding because the first bus in the morning is full.

Mr TIpper said he had "some sympathy" but added "at the same time the parent chose to live in that area".

"People who need to get to work or school, they should live on a bus route," he added. "It's just not economical."

"I'm sorry to sound dictatorial about it but it's common sense. If you can't get to work because you are living in a certain area you shouldn't have moved there in the first place."

Wendy Thomas said crowded buses are an issue in the area she represents

Councillor Sajid Patel backed up his his fellow Tory colleague's comments.

He said parents should take more responsibility when considering where they send their children to school and how they will get there.

"Parents also have a responsibility," he said. "When you choose the secondary school you want to send your children to, you have a choice.

"When you make that choice one of the things you have to consider is the transport arrangements."

Philip Williams, the council's traffic and transport assistant director, said it is important to get this right "up stream" especially for people who have not got much of a choice about where they live.

"People in social housing, the housing that is provided and is available should be well connected," he said.

Councillor Gill Moseley asked if farming communities should give up jobs on farms to live near a bus route, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Farmers don't really have the choice to go to a particular location," she said.

"The argument for choosing to live on a bus route is not as strong perhaps as the speaker would like it to be."

She said the need for new housing, particularly in rural areas, is leading to homes being built far from a frequent bus line.