A LONG-RUNNING battle over the high price of bus journeys to two grammar schools in west Wirral has been resolved – slashing the cost for parents by around £400 a year.

Serving West Kirby and Calday Grange Grammar schools, the Wirral “F” buses were, up until this school year, the only block of school buses in the county provided by a local education authority.

After the council cut the £60,000 subsidy last year, parents were faced with a price hike from around £300 to closer to £500 a year.

However, following high-level negotiations between Chairman of Merseytravel Cllr Mark Dowd and Wirral Council leader Cllr Steve Foulkes, the provision will now be taken over and subsidised permanently by Merseytravel from September.

The deal will mean that children using the F Buses will only pay 50p per trip (or use a Solo travelcard), instead of some £500 a year.

Cllr Mark Dowd, chairman of Merseytravel, said: “It is important we bring these buses into our countywide school bus network and create a level playing field across the region.

“School children using the F Series of buses should be paying the same as every other Wirral pupil using their tickets on other bus services that we subsidise.

“There is a lack of commercial bus routes for children from these two schools, so it is important that something was done to support them as best we can.”

As yet, Merseytravel is currently awaiting tender bids from operators to run the F bus services.

Cllr Foulkes said: “This is what we hoped for and have worked for since the initial Cabinet decision to tackle the anomaly of council-subsidised buses which were costing the Council Tax payer considerable sums of money, as well as the parents of the children who used them.

“We now have an agreement with Merseytravel which means that the buses will be subsidised by them in the same way other school transport is subsidised.

“This is the outcome of lengthy negotiations and we are grateful to Merseytravel for agreeing to take this on and create a much fairer position for all concerned.

“We are also grateful to Stephen Hesford, MP for West Wirral, for the support he has given us on this issue.”

Esther McVey, a governor of Calday Grange Grammar School and Conservative prospective candidate for Wirral West, also welcomed the agreement.

She said: “Finally common sense has prevailed and parent power has been acknowledged.”

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