Parents panic as bus firm stops school service a week before term

Emma Johnson has started a WhatsApp group with parents to find a new bus operator

Hundreds of pupils will have to find alternative ways of getting to school after a bus firm withdrew its services just before the new academic year.

Parents said they have been left panicking after the Green Bus company, which operates in the West Midlands, informed them on Saturday.

The firm said it had been close to finding a replacement provider but they withdrew from the deal on Thursday.

Parents who have paid for the upcoming school year will be refunded, it said.

In the letter to parents, chief executive Ian Mack said the decision had been made due to the "costs of providing our services now exceed the income we receive".

He had had to let staff go which was was "one of the most difficult things I have done," he said.

"Sadly, it is simply unsustainable for small operators to survive in the rapidly-declining marketplace for local bus services," he wrote.

The company operated services in Warwickshire, south Birmingham, Longbridge, Rubery and Catshill in Worcestershire.

Parent Travis Roberts, from Wythall near Bromsgrove, said his daughter had used the 502 service to make the 12-mile journey to Alcester Grammar School in Warwickshire, for the last two years.

Parent Travis Roberts said he could drop and collect his daughter in the short term but a new bus operator was needed

"It's galvanised a lot of people into action, there are lots of people contacting local bus providers.. but we're kind of at the mercy of Warwickshire Council as they need to fix the problem," he said.

He said communication from Green Bus had been quite poor.

"Sending an email on a Saturday over a bank holiday weekend with so little time to make alternative arrangements is poor....but mostly I feel sorry for the drivers who have lost their jobs," he added.

"Huge stress"

Emma Johnson said her daughter was starting year seven next week and she had been co-ordinating with parents on the 502 double decker Kings Heath to Alcester route by setting up a WhatsApp group.

The firm is based in Birmingham

More than 100 parents had joined.

"The main aim of the group was making sure we had something set up for next week whether it be a bus company taking on the route or whether its sharing taxis or lift sharing but we knew we needed something set up," she said.

Alcester Grammar School said school transport arrangements were the responsibility of parents but it had begun liaising with other schools, local authorities and transport providers to explore potential solutions "as a result of this incredibly late decision".

Stuart Mace from Lapworth in Warwickshire said a change in provider would have been welcomed.

Finding new transport would be harder for pupils in more rural areas, he said.

Accounts lodged at Companies House up to July 2022 show the bus firm owed more than £1m and while it was owed £1.3m, cash in its bank account stood at just over £44,000.

In the letter to parents, Green Bus said a 38.1% increase in motor insurance premium from August made its networks financially loss-making.

Warwickshire County Council has been contacted for a statement.