New Bus Routes Serve Schools and Save Money

School children from more areas of the Borough are now able to use public transport to get to school, reducing vehicles on the road and saving the council money in the process. 

The recent Borough-wide bus contract retendering for subsidised bus services has been an enormous undertaking as new routes and timetables have been designed, consulted on, and rolled out. 

Early discussions between the transport department and Children's Services identified gaps in public transport, where Achieving for Children were forced to commission more expensive services to transport eligible children to school. (Children may be eligible for free school transport for reasons of income, SEND, and distance to school, as per the council's Home to School Transport Policy)

With the support of the bus companies, new routes and stops were put into place, giving parents more choice, reducing costs for the council, and putting money back into the public bus system through AfC purchasing passes for eligible children. 

While there have been some teething issues as the new services bed in, this demonstrates the Lib Dem administration's commitment to transformation that improves services for residents and makes our borough, Cleaner, Greener and Safer!