School bus routes cut the night before pupils return

A number of school bus routes in North Lanarkshire were cancelled the night before local children returned to school on Wednesday.

The cuts affected 26 primary and secondary schools in the area.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), who organise contracts for North Lanarkshire Council, failed to find drivers for more than 40 routes.

SPT has apologised and is trying to secure transport on a temporary emergency basis for pupils.

North Lanarkshire Council said SPT only informed the council of the issue on Tuesday and branded it "wholly unacceptable."

SPT said a number of bus operators had declined a number of approved and awarded contracts at short notice in North and South Lanarkshire.

The issue is also expected to affect buses on Thursday.

Steven McGeever, a father of two from Gartcosh said: "We've been attempting to find out the school bus timetable information from SPT since before the summer break.

"Last night we started to hear from other parents that some had received emails stating that the school buses wouldn't run.

"Today I've learned from the contractor named on our letter from SPT that they have not been contracted to run the service and have no intention of doing so.

"We have a child at primary and one at secondary in Cumbernauld and as we both work full time, it's going to be very challenging managing drop offs and picks ups at such short notice.

"The whole situation is a complete shambles and stressful start to the term for pupils and parents."

Other councils reported similar problems although not to the same extent.

North Lanarkshire Council covers one of the largest school estates in Scotland.

The council also said a number of taxi contractors for Additional Special Needs (ASN) schools had withdrawn from their contracts at short notice due to a lack of qualified drivers.

North Lanarkshire Council has listed all affected schools on their website.

It appealed to parents and carers to find alternative travel for children and young people to get to and from school.

A spokesperson said parents would be updated as soon as new information is available.

An SPT spokesperson said: "SPT arranges school contracts for 11 local authorities in the west of Scotland.

"This year we have seen an unprecedented volume of renewals, given short term contracts were put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"While we have ensured contracts for the majority of councils on time and ahead of the new school year beginning, a number of bus operators have, at short notice, now declined a number of approved and awarded contracts in North and South Lanarkshire.

"We apologise to all parents, pupils and schools affected.

"Due to the short notice given by operators, we have not been able to put in place alternative arrangements.

"Our schools' team is working hard to find transport on a temporary emergency basis for pupils affected."