Anger as school bus fares look set to rise (From Warrington Guardian)

Anger as school bus fares look set to rise

PARENTS in Winsford and Middlewich will have to wait until May to find out whether there will be a big rise in school bus fares.

Members of the resources committee of Cheshire County Council were set to ratify an increase in transport costs for secondary school pupils and post-16 students at a meeting last Friday.

But instead, the matter was transferred to full council on May 8.

The new charges are due to be imposed in September. This will mean:

An increase from £30 to £66 per term for under 16s (living within three miles of school) or £95 per term (out-of-zone).

An increase from £66 to £99 per term for post-16 students (living within three miles of school) or £142 per term (outside catchment area).

Middlewich and Congleton borough Clr Arnold Kidd was furious at news of the proposed increases.

He said: "I think this is most disgusting action. I'm amazed. Middlewich is the only town in the borough which does not have a sixth form college.

"And so every pupil has further than three miles to travel. This means that they will have to pay substantial transport costs.

"There's an increase of £142 per term in fares for post-16 students living further than three miles from a college.

"We are being penalised for the fact there is no college in Middlewich. Under these terms Middlewich must be made a special exception.

"If there isn't a sixth form establishment within three miles, what are they supposed to do?"

He added: "When you consider the national Government has put education so high on its agenda, this is a retrograde step.

"Where should we go from here? Perhaps Middlewich should join Vale Royal?"

But Clr Peter Nurse, chairman of Cheshire County Council's education committee, defended the rise.

He said: "I would not want it in an ideal world but it's a hard world we are living in and the facts are that contract prices for school transport are rising by 25 to 30 per cent. This is having a great deal of pressure on the budget.

"There are many areas in the county that do not have a sixth form, including Middlewich. And in these circumstances we are still subsidising the transport costs for these pupils by about 50 per cent."

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