'Axing school bus service will leave us trapped'

Dozens of families said they have become "trapped" with no way of getting their children to school after a bus service they had relied on for years was axed.

Suffolk County Council has confirmed its DM317 route from Coddenham to Debenham High School will not be in operation from September.

Pupils who had their travel funded by the council would be put on alternative routes, but more than 20 students, whose transport was paid for by their parents as part of the spare seat scheme, will not be.

Suffolk County Council said it had to "prioritise its finite resources and budget to ensure we meet our statutory obligation in the provision of school travel".

Kate Haley, who lives in Little Stonham, Suffolk, has paid £360 a term for the last three years so her eldest daughter could go to and from school on the bus.

She only found out the service had ended after applying for a seat for her youngest daughter, who is starting at Debenham High School in September.

“We are feeling a bit hard done by because we are all working parents but we are no longer able to get our children to the school they are entitled to go to,” the 47-year-old said.

“We have started to look at alternatives as a group of parents but a minibus will cost £28,000 for the year which is just not doable – that’s a full-time job.

“We don’t know what we’re going to do long-term - it’s incredibly stressful and not something we want to be worrying about. We are being penalised for being working parents.”

Vale Brittain, 50, from Creeting St Mary, Suffolk, is another parent whose two sons have utilised the service for several years.

She added: “Working parents rely on this bus and we pay a small fortune every term, but we are willing to pay that because we need this service.

“Yet they have just withdrawn it absolutely last minute, out of the blue, and they have just advised parents to carshare – so, ‘sort yourself out’ in other words.

“We don’t have any other public service coming from the village, so we are literally trapped. I feel we are being neglected and let down.”

Mum-of-two Liza Ellen, 51, from Bedfield, Suffolk, previously experienced a similar situation when the spare seat scheme on a school bus service in her area was dropped.

After new regulations were introduced in 2020, any vehicles that could not cater to those with disabilities were no longer permitted to take onboard paying students.

“Every single day the bus stops just 200 yards from our front door with just two students on it but my children are not allowed to get on it,” Liza said.

“Taking away a bus service and leaving people completely in the lurch and penalising them for being a working family is very short-sighted and morally unjust.

“Suffolk County Council is trying to save money and will do everything in its power to save money – but they are not looking at the bigger picture.”

Across the county, 140 applications for spare seats for the new academic year have been refused so far, according to Suffolk County Council.

A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council, said there was a limit to the number of spaces it could offer and a seat would "always" be available to those who are eligible.

"Suffolk County Council must prioritise its finite resources and budget to ensure we meet our statutory obligation in the provision of school travel, ensuring that taxpayers’ money is used efficiently," a spokesperson for the authority said.

"Parents with children who are eligible for county council-funded school travel take priority. Where there are spare seats available on buses, these will be offered up to others on a first come first served basis.

"The offer of a spare seat comes with the guidance that it is not guaranteed and could change or be removed at any time."

Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.