Special needs: Almost 300 pupils affected by school taxi issues

Almost 300 pupils were without school transport at the end of last week after taxis tendered by the Education Authority (EA) did not show up.

More than 3,500 children - many of whom have special needs - are brought to and from school via EA-provided taxis.

But it said securing taxis for school transport was becoming increasingly difficult.

As of Monday, 43 children remained without school transport in place.

The EA said it was working hard to put arrangements in place as soon as possible.

It said the continuing challenges facing the taxi industry - including a fall in the number of operators in recent years - was affecting a "small proportion" of its services.

"Due to the hard work of our team, emergency arrangements were put in place for the vast majority of these routes," the EA said in a statement.

"However the shortage of drivers, and short notice provided, is causing some service disruption in the initial days and has also made communication extremely challenging."

Gemma Caddell's four-year-old daughter is autistic and was left without transport on her first day of school.

Ms Caddell, from Belfast, said the situation had caused extreme upset and her daughter had been left "hysterical".

She said her family had been preparing Willow-Mae all summer for her first day at school last Thursday.

"She was so excited in the morning," Ms Caddell said.

When she had not heard any updates from the EA about Willow-Mae's transport over the summer, she contacted it last week.

She was told a taxi had been arranged and that she would hear from the company with further details, but she didn't.

She tried to confirm again with the EA on Wednesday, but was unable to reach anyone.

Other parents whose children have special needs told her that it was often the case that parents do not have full details, but that the taxis usually do show up around 07.45, so she had Willow prepared to go to school for that time.

When, an hour later, a taxi still had not arrived, she brought Willow-Mae to school in another taxi herself.

By the time they got to school, "Willow was hysterical," Ms Caddell said.

"She had to be carried into the classroom."

The family said they were assured by the EA that a taxi had been booked to collect Willow-Mae from school at 14:00.

At 14:30, Ms Caddell received a call from the school to say no taxi had arrived.

"I knew then it was going to take me ages to get there. I don't drive so I had to get my mum to pick me up, by the time we got to the school it was 15:10," she said.

"She's four years old, she didn't know what to do," Ms Caddell told BBC News NI.

She said the EA had since told her that it did not know why she was told there would be transport to take Willow-Mae home, because it had not been arranged.

She said she was told that while a company had been tendered to do the job, it had cancelled the contract a few days previously.

She said the EA told her it was not sure why she was not informed by them of this development.

In order to take Willow-Mae to the school herself, Ms Caddell would have to take time off work to take two buses each way, eight a day in total, or pay almost £40 for taxis, she said.

As a result, she said she would not be able to send Willow-Mae to school if transport was not put in place.

Transport has since been secured for Willow-Mae. She travelled to school by taxi on Tuesday, but was unable to attend on Monday as no transport was in place, her mother said.

The EA said Northern Ireland had the highest rate of eligibility for transport assistance anywhere in the UK or Republic of Ireland.

It said procuring taxi services to support home-to-school transport had become increasingly challenging due to "the well reported pressures facing the taxi industry as a whole in Northern Ireland, which has reported a 40% decrease in taxi operators in the last 5-6 years".

"We understand the significant impact late cancellations or no-shows can have on a pupil and their family and we do our best to confirm alternative transport arrangements and/or notify the family in a timely manner," the EA said in a statement.

"Where it is not possible to secure an operator we work with families to develop alterative arrangements such as a parental payment.

"In total, 272 pupils were affected by hand-backs at end of day on Friday 2 September.

"By Monday 5 September, transport arrangements were put in place for 229 pupils, however 43 pupils still require transport and we are working hard to put arrangements in place as soon as possible."

It asked for parents' continued patience.

Parents with any queries or concerns relating to home-to-school transport can contact the EA's helpline from Monday - Friday between 09.30 - 12.30 and 13.30 - 16.30 on 028 95 98 59 59.