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Transport scramble for stranded West Midlands school pupils

BBC LeonieBBC
Leonie said she was having to pay about £1,100 for another annual bus pass for her daughter while waiting for a refund from Green Bus

Parents of pupils left without school transport days before the new term begins say they are facing a scramble to find alternatives and pay for them.

Hundreds were left stranded when the Green Bus company said it could no longer run its West Midlands routes.

The cost of providing the services exceeded the income it received, the firm said in a letter to parents.

One coach firm said it could take 250 pupils but said it could not cover all the affected areas.

Green Bus operated school services in Warwickshire, south Birmingham, Longbridge, Rubery and Catshill in Worcestershire.

Parents were told on Saturday by the firm it was withdrawing its services.

Billy
Billy said he had used the bus service for the last five years

Billy, from Lapworth in Warwickshire, said he needed transport to Alcester Grammar School.

"They've pulled out at the last minute and I've got no direct transport because there are no public services that run anywhere near Lapworth to Alcester," he said.

Libby, from Claverdon, said: "We've got a week to sort everything out. Now we have to worry about this, whether we can even get there."

Her mother Leonie said she had already paid about £1,100 for the Green Bus pass and had to find money to pay the same again for a new pass while she waited for a refund.

Becs Ridley, from Ridleys Coaches in Warwick, said the firm had increased capacity to take 250 more pupils and added two new routes.

But demand from parents to buy its passes for £1,050 for the year crashed its IT system on Wednesday, she added.

The firm said it had added stops to some routes to serve certain schools, but not all.

Dan and Libby
Libby (right) said she was concerned about what they could do a week before going to school

Warwickshire County Council said it had secured transport with Ridleys for 52 eligible pupils the authority had a statutory duty for.

A range of local bus and train firms were working with the council to find other alternatives, a spokesperson added.

Green Bus' chief executive Ian Mack told the BBC he understood there was "an extremely unfortunate timeline" in telling parents on Saturday but he lost a replacement operator on Thursday.

He said the firm would continue to operate but school transport services were not viable due to rising costs and reduced demand.

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