Parents may get rebate on higher school bus fares

Oct 10 2007 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

PARENTS who faced a 60% increase in bus fares for their children in west Wirral could get a rebate after an agreement was reached between the council and Merseytravel.

Youngsters taking the bus to West Kirby and Calday Grange grammar schools saw the cost of their bus travel to school shoot up because subsidies were cut by £60,000 by the council.

The problem arose because there was no commercial bus route for use by children from west Wirral attending the two grammar schools.

To get children to school on time Wirral Council provided a special “F” bus series, which the authority commissioned itself.

But the council said that as the numbers of children using the bus dropped, costs soared to the point where it was no longer viable to subsidise a specially commissioned service at the taxpayer’s expense.

Council leader Steve Foulkes, said recent high-level negotiations with Merseytravel now mean that, in the short term, the transport authority have now agreed to help with the cost of funding this year’s buses.

He said: “With some further work on re-organisation of the buses provided, we hope to be able to provide some level of rebate in the New Year to parents who have bought bus passes for this service.

“More importantly, Merseytravel have also agreed to look at taking the buses under their wing from the next academic year, with a view to achieving a level playing field so that the cost of bus passes on the F Series is brought down to a similar level as scholars’ tickets on other bus services in Wirral which Merseytravel subsidise.”

He also praised Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford “for the support he has given us in these lengthy and sometimes contentious negotiations” and the director of Merseytravel, Neil Scales.

A Merseytravel spokesman said last night that the final decision would rest with the area’s relevant Passenger Transport Authority committees.