Council considers changing free transport range. Some pupils may face six-mile round trips to school.
Right now, kids get free rides if they live over two miles away. The council wants to change this to three miles, but some kids might walk six miles daily!
According to the council, this follows Welsh rules. The council spends way more on buses these days, with costs going from £6.4 million to about £12 million.
Carol Andrews said the current policy is too much, noting that Caerphilly is almost alone in giving so much help. Fuel costs, few drivers, and inflation all made transport prices go up.
More kids need special help nowadays, and these kids need pricier transport. Good news: new rules won’t affect these kids.
Almost one thousand people responded to the survey. Most said it would affect their kids directly, and the walking distance shocked most people. Over 400 people said they’d drive instead.
Jamie Pritchard suggested only changing rules for older students, and everyone agreed. Before any changes, a safety check of routes must happen.
An expert will check routes for about £192,500, with work expected to end in July. Then, they’ll decide for sure, but Sean Morgan said the checks must be fair.
The council expects to save around £1.1 million, relying on cutting transport for high schoolers.