Despite the best efforts of many people – among them Robert Buckland (MP for Swindon South), Swindon Borough Council, local Swindon Councillors, parents and St John’s Academy – Wiltshire Council have confirmed that the early morning Route 80 bus from Swindon to St John’s will not run after the end of the current school term.
See our earlier story on the proposed abandonment of this bus route.
Having been alerted to the proposed cancellation by Swindon Borough Council, St John’s first letter to parents in May was sent only to those with Swindon post codes whose children might be affected by this loss in transport to school.
Confirming Wiltshire Council’s decision, on July 3 the St John’s Principal, Ian Tucker, wrote to all the school’s parents and carers “…as we feel this situation could be significant.”
The Principal’s letter stated: “Wiltshire Passenger Transport has informed the MP for South Swindon, ‘due to the costs involved [in running the Swindon 80] we have had to reduce the present level of service provided’.” The afternoon Marlborough to Swindon service will remain ‘largely unchanged’.
The Wiltshire Council letter to Robert Buckland continued: “We are not able to provide financial support for the St John’s Academy journeys, as children in Chiseldon receive free schools transport to Ridgeway School provided by Swindon Borough Council. Children attending St John’s Academy from Chiseldon are non-entitled to transport as they are attending through their choice”.
Whatever the language used, this has come as a shock to parents in Chisledon. ‘Parental choice’ has long been a principle of Conservative education policy. Now it seems choice is to be penalised.
One Chiseldon parent to whom marlborough.news has spoken could not understand at all the logic of cutting a bus used regularly by forty-plus St John’s students and some 27 other passengers, while keeping services later in the day ‘which carry about three passengers’: “I do not understand why it is not viable. We’ve been left high and dry.”
The letter from Mr Tucker laid out five alternative options:
- Travel on the Thamesdown No. 48 service that runs through Liddington.
- Have parents drive their children to school in Marlborough.
- Car-share and take turns driving to Marlborough.
- Group together and hire a minibus/coach from a commercial company such as Akcess (who have a transport service contract with Swindon Borough Ccouncil and have expressed an interest in finding a solution).
- Ask St John’s to hire a coach, which either runs just in the morning or operates both morning and afternoon. The cost of this will have to be borne entirely by the families using the service.
To explore the viability of the last option, please click on the Survey link and respond by Monday 8th July. A 49 – seat coach will cost you approximately £5.50 per day return per 49 passengers- more if there are fewer passengers. We need to know if there are enough students likely to travel every day to make this a financially feasible service. There can be no financial input from St John’s itself but we will be pleased to arrange the service, providing it is financially self-sufficient.
The first option is not very practical as the 48 route through the villages (shortly to be handed over the Stagecoach West) runs with smaller, single decker vehicles – to navigate the village lanes.
The suggestion that parents should drive the children to school will cause extra traffic problems in Marlborough and at St John’s, and hardly fits with Wiltshire Council’s vote to declare a ‘Climate Emergency’.
Wiltshire Councillor Nicholas Fogg told marlborough.news: “At a time when the emphasis is on reducing carbon emissions, it is unwise to be taking steps that will actually increase them. Surely getting children to school safely should be a top priority for any local authority.”
Another parent marlborough.news spoke to was worried that Wiltshire Council’s decision heralded a change in school admission policy – restricting Wiltshire schools to children of Wiltshire parents.
It does seem a strange time for Wiltshire Council to pick a quarrel with Swindon Borough Council. They are both involved with finding solutions to major future job losses when the Honda works close. And they are also working together on housing allocation policy covering north and east Wiltshire and south Swindon.
It remains to be seen how the ‘significance’ of this decision is revealed in future Wiltshire Council policies.
