Parents' 'nightmare' after Winterbourne Academy bus routes axed

South Gloucestershire Council said it has been "working tirelessly" to find ways to fund the buses

Parents say plans to axe two public buses to a school will leave their children struggling for transport.

The 458 and 963 buses used by pupils at Winterbourne Academy in Bristol will be scrapped in September.

South Gloucestershire Council said it had tried to find alternative ways to fund the buses after the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) withdrew support for some local routes.

WECA said it is up to councils to supply free school transport if needed.

Parent Becky Harris said she would have found a different school for her 11-year-old daughter, who is due to start at Winterbourne Academy in September, if she had known the routes would no longer be in operation.

"She really wanted to go to Winterbourne and the transport was literally at the bottom of our road so we put that as our first choice," she said.

'An absolute nightmare'

Ms Harris, who lives in Downed, said the closest alternative bus leaves too early.

"My daughter has only just turned 11 and for her to be catching the bus at seven in the morning as we go into winter, it's going to be dark," she said.

"It's too far for her to walk that distance on her own. It's an absolute nightmare to try and get to Winterbourne School from where we live," added Ms Harris.

Katy Jarrett from Bradley Stoke, whose daughter goes to Winterbourne Academy, accused WECA of "not taking accountability".

"It's the biggest secondary school in South Gloucestershire. If you want children to go there you need to provide a service," she said.

Ms Jarrett said there is another bus nearby but "it goes past as soon as the school finishes".

"Unless she is let out of a lesson early I'm not prepared for her to stand at a bus stop for over an hour after school every day," added Ms Jarrett.

'Complicated jigsaw'

A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said WECA is "responsible for bus services in the region".

"We have been working tirelessly to find alternative ways to fund them [the buses]," they said.

A WECA spokesperson said buses are a "complicated funding and regulatory jigsaw".

"Previously some routes have also been run on a commercial basis by bus companies," the spokesperson added.