Rural student left stranded by Welsh council’s transport policy change

Alec Doyle, Local democracy reporter

A student is being forced to criss-cross the borough to attend A-Level classes after a Welsh Council withdrew his access to a bus service.

Mum, Debbie Edwards, said her 16-year-old son had been disproportionately affected by the authority’s change in school transport policy. He is the only sixth-form pupil in Worthenbury and Ysgol Maelor is his closest sixth form provision.

The student, who hopes to become a lawyer, initially secured a seat on the Ysgol Maelor bus in Penley in September. It was the same bus he had used for five years as a student.

Now studying his A Levels, he needed to pay £100 per term to ride the bus. With no suitable public transport in the village and school being too far to walk or cycle, his parents were happy to pay to ensure he could attend classes.

But a change in the council’s school bus policy – driven by its interpretation of the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) – means from January 1 it stopped allowing sixth form students to purchase vacant seats on school transport – leaving the young man stranded.

“We got given a concessionary seat and knew we’d need to pay but there was no other realistic way to get him to school.

“Then on December 1 I got an email from the council to say they were stopping concessionary seats due to the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) and they weren’t allowing sixth formers to travel on it.

“They’re saying they’ve had legal advice and they don’t have to give 16-year-olds a seat on the bus. They don’t have to make sure they can travel to a place of education.”

He now faces having to negotiate an eight-mile journey to school.

“My husband works in Manchester and I work in Malpas,” said Debbie. “Driving him is not practical. It has turned my four mile commute into a 20 mile each way drive. I am losing money as I am starting work late and finishing early to pick him up.

“I even looked at dropping him off in Bangor-on-Dee to get the bus from there, but the bus to Penley does not get him in on time during term-time – only at weekends and school holidays.

“He’s a bright student, he wants to be a lawyer and his predicted grades are excellent because he wants to succeed.”

She added: “We knew it was concessionary and if there were no spaces on the bus he wouldn’t get a seat but he’s used it throughout high school and there’s always spare seats.”

Debbie contacted her community council, Wrexham County Borough Council, MP Andrew Ranger and MS Ken Skates.

Cllr Robert Ian Williams challenged officers over the decision at the most recent meeting of Wrexham’s Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee.

“I’m very concerned about this” he told officers. “Alternative transport for that young man must be found to substitute for the denial of him being able to travel on that bus.

“Two of the villages in my ward have no public transport at all. This is an exceptional circumstance and I think Wrexham should be ashamed about this.”

Cllr Williams then left the meeting in protest. Cllr Stella Matthews supported his argument.

“I can’t understand this,” she said. “As a borough I would think we have a responsibility. There’s always exceptions to rules. Some councils believe the exemption still stands and are still offering concessionary transport.

“Our children are missing out.”

Gareth Jones, interim Head of Service Strategy within Wrexham Council’s Environment Department, told the meeting that the decision was legally sound.

“It is a contentious issue and I understand the frustration of the people affected,” he said. “There are 39 concessionary seats being withdrawn. We have exhausted our options in terms of offering mitigation to try to avoid the withdrawal of these 39 seats. We sought independent legal advice and the decision is legally sound.

“Of those 39, I believe 37 have now accepted the partial refund, one parent has submitted complaints and had numerous representations from the local MP and AM. The formal response was issued and they have recourse to the Public Service Ombudsman.

“A sixth form pupil is not eligible for free school transport under the policy. If they are choosing to attend a setting eight miles away that is a decision they have made and they would be liable for the provision of transport.”

But for Debbie, her son’s decision to attend sixth form at Ysgol Maelor is not a choice, it is their nearest school.

“I feel quite belittled really,” she said. “Gareth Jones made it sound like we were just making a fuss and we should get over it and move on.

“My child can’t get to sixth form whereas someone in Wrexham can. They have multiple options of going to a college or one of the schools in the city, we’ve got nothing at all.”

Asked to respond to the claim the school travel policy change has disproportionately impacted a single learner, Lead Member for Education Cllr Phil Wynn said: “It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the circumstances faced by any individual student.

“I do recognise the withdrawal of concessionary seats on our school buses, whilst driven by the need to be compliant with national legislation, has created challenges for a number of families.”