Parents' anger over cancelled school bus services
Parents have criticised Stagecoach for the cancellations and delays which they say have affected their children's school attendance
At a glance
Stagecoach has apologised after parents in parts of east Kent said their children have been made late to school due to bus service cancellations
The firm's managing director said the recent closure of the Folkstone depot had seen a reduction in driver numbers and a change of routes
Parents - who pay about £400 for a bus pass - are concerned about being issued fines by their children's schools
- Published
Parents in Kent say a shortage of bus drivers has caused some children to arrive late for school several times a week.
The families in places such as Aycliffe, near Dover, fear they may be fined by schools over punctuality.
One parent said it was a "safeguarding issue" and called on the bus service to rectify it.
Stagecoach apologised for the disruption and said it hoped to resolve the transportation issues within eight weeks.
Parents - who pay about £400 for their children's bus pass - said getting their children to and from school was a "lottery".
Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, Aycliffe resident and mother Nikki said the problem was a "safeguarding issue" and wants it resolved ahead of the winter.
She said: "It's frightening to know when they're going to get home, if they're going to get home OK.
"People need to do more to get this sorted out"
Another parent, Matt Gurney, was forced to make alternative arrangements after finding out the bus service his daughter has used to travel to Folkestone for five years was cancelled.
"We were enormously surprised on Monday morning to discover that the service was suddenly not happening," he said.
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Joel Mitchell, managing director of Stagecoach South East, said the issue was mainly caused by the closure of a depot in Folkestone in June, prompting some staff to take redundancy rather than transfer to Dover.
He said the issue with drivers could be resolved within eight weeks, but he declined to say if any parents would receive refunds.
Mr Mitchell also said his children had also been affected by a similar issue.
"I know exactly what this is like for people," he said.
"It was only two or three years ago that I had to deregister my own son's school bus that resulted in me having to then drive him to the train station.
In a separate statement, Stagecoach said its local teams were working "incredibly hard" to ensure services run.
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