New law leaves Leverington student Lola unable to get to school

A Leverington mum is looking for answers after being told her daughter will not be able to use school transportation due to a lack of compliant public buses.

Julie Penn says that her 11-year-old daughter Lola has been cut off from transportation after new legislation meant that Cambridgeshire County Council could no longer offer her a ‘spare’ space on a provided bus service.

New Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulation 2000 (PSVAR) legislation, introduced by the Department of Transport, stipulates that any vehicle of 22 or more seats carrying passengers which have passengers paying for transport, has to meet a new accessibility requirement.

Mrs Penn says that, due to the ‘ludicrous’ legislation and the family home being a three mile distance from the school, her daughter will either need to walk to school or accept a place across in the border in Lincolnshire.

She said: “Lola is extremely upset because to go to school in Lincolnshire would mean she’s not with her friends and she would miss out on that social aspect.

“She’s going through all of these changes with moving school already so it’s very stressful for us all.

“But we’ve been absolutely cut off by being three miles away from Thomas Clarkson Academy. The other option is for her to walk but I wouldn’t want to walk that route – it’s dark, unlit and unsafe – so she won’t be either.

“The whole fleet of buses in Cambridgeshire isn’t compliant so it can’t just be me. It’s ludicrous that a legislation that’s meant to be doing good for accessibility actually puts others at a disadvantage. I don’t want a freebie – I just want to get my daughter to school safely and on time.”

Mrs Penn feels that more should be done to work on the issues posed by the lack of school transport and has contacted MP Stephen Barclay on the matter.

She said: “There’s just no accountability. It’s been going back and forth like a ping pong ball since May and it feels like no common sense has been applied.

“If the buses aren’t compliant why not change the rules? If the distance is the issue, let the last bus stop on the route be the cut off point and let people in the outside villages get on the transport.

“There’s lots of things they could do but they aren’t and I just don’t understand how they can’t offer school transport. There has got to be options – we can’t just be left to sort ourselves out.”

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: “New legislation means that any vehicle of 22 or more seats carrying passengers paying for transport has to meet new accessibility requirements, such as low access and access for wheelchairs.

“Cambridgeshire County Council needs to contract large numbers of 22+ seater vehicles to provide home to school transport for entitled pupils across the county, but the current transport providers in Cambridgeshire do not have sufficient compliant vehicles to meet the large number required. Therefore, the council will not be requesting compliant vehicles on the majority of home to school contracted vehicles.

“Due to the new legislation and capacity issues, the council has decided to stop providing spare seats for pupils under the age of 16 from September 2021. We will be offering some post-16 paid seats to meet our policy requirements, but these will be minimal.

“Whilst we appreciate this is upsetting news for some families, this transport provision is discretionary and has only ever been guaranteed on a termly basis, subject to availability. The council is currently re-measuring the route and assessing its safety. Once the route has been assessed, we will inform Ms Penn of her options.”