Controversial plans to end subsidised school transport in East Ayrshire is set to be tested with a three week pilot scheme before the end of the school year.
East Ayrshire is the only one of Scotland’s 32 local authorities to provide subsidised fares for pupils who don’t meet the free transport criteria.
After reviewing a report on eliminating the programme from the previous year, council members decided to hold off on making a decision until further research was done to evaluate the connections between public transport and active travel.
The council spent £462,000 during its final full year of operation, or about £750 for every 617 students.
Officers at the time predicted that the number of persons utilising the service would decline to about 560, and they attributed the decline to the rise in young people’s usage of free bus transportation. They also predicted that the cost per head would likely increase.
Council members will learn, meanwhile, that 646 students used the programme in 2023–2024, increasing the council’s expense to £641k.
This contributed significantly to an overrun of £440k in 2022–2023 and is predicted to increase to £523k this year.
According to a report presented to the cabinet on Wednesday, “the cost to the council has significantly increased over the intervening years due to changes in school catchment areas, new home construction, increases in the number of people eligible for free school meals, significant inflationary pressures, and improved vehicle standards.”
“In the current school year, 2023/24, 2,534 pupils are in receipt of free school transport, with 646 pupils accessing subsidised transport.
As of January 2024, the council was £523k over budget and officials estimating that the cost to the council, taking into account income, would be £641k.
Officers have now reviewed the current walking routes to secondary schools and have proposed upgrades to some of them.
- St Joseph’s Academy, from Caprington,Bellfield and Crookedholm
- St Joseph’s Academy, from North Kilmarnock;
- Grange Academy from South of Kilmarnock;
- Grange Campus, from Gargieston
- Grange Campus from North West Kilmarnock;
- William McIlvanney Campus, from North Kilmarnock;
- Barony Campus, from Lugar and Logan, Craigens and Netherthird and East Cumnock
- Barony Campus from Auchinleck and Holmhead.
Stagecoach has also agreed to a pilot to address the lack of direct buses from North Kilmarnock to St. Joseph’s and Kilmarnock Academies.
This will see a direct route from North Kilmarnock to New Farm Loch which the council says ‘would eliminate the need for young people to transfer at Kilmarnock Bus Station.
This service would run throughout the pilot scheme from Monday, May 27 to Friday, June 14.
Parents and carers who have paid for subsidised school transport places will be receive a credit of £18.33 for the three week period of the pilot.
A short consultation took place with pupils, carers and parents last month. The vast majority (204 out of 259 responses) were from parents and pupils at Kilmarnock Academy and St Joseph’s Academy.
51 responses were received in relation to Robert Burns Academy, with just four responses in relation to Grange Academy.
The report states: “Across all school areas comments received in relation to active travel focused predominantly on safety concerns, street lighting, weather conditions, time and distance, impact on traffic and climate change.
“The proposed introduction of a direct bus from North Kilmarnock was largely welcomed, noting that this would help to alleviate many concerns.
“However, those responding were keen to receive more information in relation to matters such as timings, frequency, capacity, location of bus stops, reliability and whether the route would be sustained longer term.”
The pilot will ‘provide an indication of which alternatives pupils will use and will inform further engagement’
Leave a Reply