Furious parents fight cuts to free school transport

Angry residents are fighting back against cuts which will see free school transport withdrawn from all children living within three miles of their secondary school

Parents say that the cuts in Rhondda Cynon Taf will leave children as young as 11 having to walk for more than an hour to and from school in all weathers.

A campaign group, Save the School Transport RCT, formed by mothers based in RCT, has so far gained 1000s of signatures and organised public meetings in the worst impacted areas.

Cross party support

Their campaign has cross party support, backed by the former Labour MP for Cynon Valley Beth Winter, Plaid Cymru’s Heledd Fychan MS, as well as local Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Independent Councillors.

The group is organising a public protest against the changes outside the RCT Council offices in Pontypridd, and encouraging parents, grandparents and students to attend and make their voices heard.

One of the organisers of the protest said, “I have recently walked the route my children will be expected to walk to school. It took around 1hr 10 mins to walk 2.8 miles, having to cross busy roads or walk around cars parked on the pavement.”

“The cost of getting my two children to and from the school on public transport would be £84 a month, which I simply can’t afford. And if the buses are late, I face getting fined and he faces detention.”

‘Totally unfair’

Another organiser added: “My son is unable to walk to school for medical reasons, that simply isn’t an option. That will mean he will either end up missing a lot of school or I will have to spend money I don’t have on unreliable buses.”

“It’s totally unfair of RCT to take buses away from the children. In our winters, it’s just unsafe for children as young as 11 to be walking two hours a day in the rain and the dark.”

The protest will take place on Saturday 19 October from 11am outside the RCT Council offices on Taff Street in Pontypridd.