Oxfordshire County Council Need to Ensure Maximum Access to School Transport

School transport is vital on so many levels. It ensures school choice, it allows schools to not be overcrowded through appropriate allocation of pupils, it keeps cars off the road, it allows safe transport where schools may not have safe traffic patterns to promote walking, it enables disabled students to attend school, and many other benefits. OCC’s recent letter to parents of children on the “Spare Seat” scheme (itself a misnomer as the seats are not spare but well utilized) is not only highly opaque in its suggested changes, but puts under threat an effective transport scheme.

Everyone in Oxfordshire has the potential to be impacted by this. From more cars on the road (with more pollution and traffic jams at rush hour) due to less bus transport, to children unable to easily get to school, to increased costs for the provision that remains, increased and more efficient provision is vital to all.