My daughter still can't get a bus to school
- Published
Natalie Eardley has taken her daughter to the school bus stop every day but no bus has turned up
Some children in North Lanarkshire are still experiencing problems with school buses, a week after they returned to the classroom.
Natalie Eardley's daughter Georgia, seven, has not been able to catch a bus since she went back to school.
Ms Eardley has been told it could take Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) up to four weeks to resolve the problem.
SPT apologised after it first emerged routes had been cancelled on 16 August.
It said several bus operators had turned down approved and awarded contracts at short notice.
North Lanarkshire Council said it was only informed of the issue by SPT the night before schools reopened, and branded the situation "wholly unacceptable".
Ms Eardley was advised to take her daughter to the bus stop last week, even though she hadn't heard from SPT, in the hope there would be transport available.
She told BBC Scotland: "We went to the bus stop and there was no bus so that was fine. We took her to school.
"We then received contact from the school to say: 'No bus has been allocated that we can find so you're going to have to come and collect her'."
Ms Eardley said Georgia had gone to the bus stop every day in case one arrived, but she had always had to drive her daughter to school instead.
The council has now suspended recycling bin collections and redeployed the drivers to the school buses.
However, Ms Eardley said her daughter's route seemed to have "fallen off the face of the earth".
She said it did not appear on the list of cancelled routes, or the list of routes which are being staffed by bin lorry drivers.
Lesley Giudici with her children Olivia and Lewis
Lesley Giudici, from Stepps, said she first heard that there would be no school bus for her children at 19:45 on 16 August, the day before they were due to start back.
She added: "Obviously then at that time of night, you've not got any option to do anything, you can't take a day off work or organise to come in late."
Her son Lewis and daughter Olivia are now using buses which are being driven by council lorry drivers.
But she said they are arriving at school more than 30 minutes before the 08:55 start time, and not arriving home until after 17:00. The school day finishes at 15:45.
Ms Giudici said: "My wee boy is just in first year. He's only 11, so for him transitioning it's such a long day when they're trying to take in so many new subjects.
"He was pretty exhausted when he got home.
"Our children are getting picked up first and dropped last, which makes it just such a long day for them."
Affected families 'vastly reduced'
North Lanarkshire Council has said there will always be an adult on the bus who has gone through the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.
However, Ms Giudici said she had concerns about a lack of PVG checks among bin lorry drivers.
As a short-term solution, both the head teacher and depute head teacher of her childrens' school had acted as chaperones.
"That can't be an ideal situation, I'm sure they've got better uses of their time," she said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for North Lanarkshire council said: "Professional drivers with the correct licence are assisting with the school transport routes.
"There will always be someone on board, either the driver or escort, who is a member of the PVG scheme.
"The number of families affected has vastly reduced and SPT continue to work on putting in place the remaining contracts, which we expect them to do quickly."
The council also said it did not anticipate that strike action which is expected to extend to North Lanarkshire from Friday would impact on school transport routes.
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