MP's school bus plea
CHILDREN who forget their school bus passes should not be left at the side of the road by the drivers, says Stratford MP John Maples....
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CHILDREN who forget their school bus passes should not be left at the side of the road by the drivers, says Stratford MP John Maples.
He has written to Eric Wood, director of education at Warwickshire County Council, on behalf of Whichford Parish Council, following several complaints.
He was told that one child had been left behind by the driver on the day of his GCSE maths exam and that another child was made to hand over his dinner money to pay for his fare after leaving his bus pass at home.
The MP writes: ?I think it is absolutely intolerable that children should be left at the side of the road if they have forgotten or mislaid their bus passes.
?The bus driver should have lists of children who have passes. If a child does not have their pass, the driver should take them and deal with the questions later.? Nick Williams, education officer at the county council, said: ?We would not want children left at the side of the road. I am aware that children in Whichford were continually forgetting their passes on their journey to Stour Valley School, and some were refused travel, but that situation has now been resolved.
?Children do have a responsibility to bring along their bus passes. If they lose them we can provide replacements, but the difficulty is that drivers often take fare-paying passengers as well.?
David Whitley, marketing manager at Stagecoach Warwick-shire, said: ?It is quite fair for us to expect every customer who uses our buses to be in possession of a valid ticket, but we appreciate that people with passes do, from time to time, mislay them.
?In such circumstances, a separate ticket must be purchased for the journey, but we have always tried to be as flexible as possible - particularly in the case of schoolchildren. If a child cannot pay the fare, the driver should take his or her name and address before allowing free travel.
?Any driver who refuses a child travel can expect to be subject to disciplinary action,? Mr Whitley said.