Threat to 12 West Midlands school bus routes

National Express is considering removing 12 West Midlands school bus services at the end of December.

The bus company operates about 60 services for pupils across the region.

A representative of public body Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) said there had been indication some of the potentially affected routes were in Coventry.

National Express West Midlands said: "We are doing everything we can to avoid changing routes."

In a presentation delivered to Coventry City Council on Wednesday, TfWM's John Haynes said the authority should prepare for pressure from schools concerned by changes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

TfWM would be unable to replace any withdrawn routes, Mr Haynes added, saying changes would be confirmed in late November.

National Express West Midlands said no decisions had been made about which routes, if any, would be changed, and it was working hard to maintain services while seeing fewer passengers and increased costs post-pandemic.

"We are currently running a 10% larger network than comparable cities nationwide. This has spared this region the significant cut-backs seen elsewhere," a spokesperson said.

"A particular priority is to ensure that places remain served by buses and nobody is cut off from bus provision.

"Some services, which overlap with other routes, are no longer sustainable and are under review."

A £10m support package from the Department for Education for school bus services kept the routes going through the coronavirus pandemic but this was only a short-term solution, a Coventry council officer said.

Coventry City Council already spent £200,000 per year keeping five high-priority school bus routes going, the city council meeting heard.

The authority stepped in two years ago when "a dozen" school bus routes were lost overnight after local operator Travel de Courcey went into administration, but had only committed to funding for this academic year.

A West Midlands Combined Authority report stated National Express intended to withdraw the services at the end of the winter term due to "reducing incomes and increasing costs", as well as a shift in the afternoon rush hour meaning school buses were required for normal services.

"In a small number of cases, direct alternative services are available however most passengers will be required to change between services in order to undertake their journey to school," the report said.

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