Paying for school transport - fair or not?

Socajam

It seems as if when someone ask a question the person expects everyone to agree with them.
Life is not like that, there are going to be for and against.
The OP seems to think that there should not be any negative views on her topic - what a boring life.
We all pay taxes.  I have no children, but pay taxes for all those with children, do I get mad, not at all because previous taxes paid for my education, infrastructure etc.  That's how the system works.
At 18 years old, one should be able to do some kind of work to help out.
If the person is disabled that is quite a different matter, and that depends on the disability.

Emmia

Many years ago when the school leaving age was 16, I had train season ticket that was term time only - that was free, but my siblings went to a different (Grammar) school (which was more than 2 miles away) and our parents had to pay for their travel ticket from the age of 11. 

Once I was 16 and in college, my parents expected me to cover the cost of transport - and that meant working part time. 

I don't have a huge amount of sympathy - if you don't want to pay, you either need to ensure he has his own mode of transport (moped / bicycle) or you need to drive him to and from school - all these options will probably cost you more than £800 a year.

(Also, if you compare it to most annual season tickets for trains / buses etc., £800 is an absolute bargain).

YORKSHIRELASS

It is one of the downsides of living rurally.  When my son wanted to do A levels our local sixth form college only offered a very limited choice of subjects so he went to college 25 miles away, it cost us £6 a day in transport and even then the nearest bus stopped 3 miles away from home.  He was out of the house for 11 hours a day and his weekend job earned him very little but we were lucky that we could afford to pay for it, I didnt really expect any financial help.  At the same time our eldest did an apprenticeship and we had to help him buy a car because there was no way of him getting to his job, he did have a moped for a time but the roads he was travelling on were not very safe.  I suppose there are other things that are cheaper living out in the sticks up North but we were glad when they were both a bit more self sufficient, although one is at University now.

knightstyle

Many years ago I went to a school a long way away!   4 mile walk, two trains, one bus.  Took over an hour each way and I left before I was 15.

ElephantBoy57

MNrhubarb said:

Ok I will leave this thread now. I don't think I need to justify any of my personal circumstances. @tizerbelle I didn't realise that the school transport policy had not been updated until it affected me.

I work for a local authority in SEN school transport, I believe people should discuss issues openly, as much as possible. I assume your name is not M N Rhubarb, so you have nothing to worry about.

I do believe this policy is wrong, its age discrimination, but local authorities are trying to save money. They are even more squeezed now, after lockdown.

If he is still in full-time education, you will either be getting benefits for his care, or you will be a high earner.

Mickey666

knightstyle said:

Many years ago I went to a school a long way away!   4 mile walk, two trains, one bus.  Took over an hour each way and I left before I was 15.

As an 11 year old, I started at 'big school'.  30 minute walk from home to a train station.  One stop on the train.  Then a 1.5 mile bus journey followed by a 15 minute walk to school.

But you tell that to the kids of today getting out of Mummy's 4x4 at the school gates and they won't believe you

Ah, the good old days!

missile

You have the caring (LOL) government the majority voted for. Complain to your MP.

John_

MNrhubarb said:

Now that it is law for school leavers to stay in education until they are 18, why do parents have to stump up the cost of transport to Sixth form/college?
My son is going to sixth form and the bill for transport is £800 per year. He can't get a public bus as we live rurally, so the nearest bus stop is a mile away which takes him 2 miles away from his school. There is school transport provided and this was free up until this year. So even though he cannot earn and has to stay in public transport, he is not entitled to free transport. What is the logic behind this? I am genuinely interested as to the government's reasoning. I understand paying if this was a choice to stay in education, but it's not a choice, it's the law. I don't get the difference suddenly behind last year when it was free and this year when it is not. It's the same school, same bus. Does anyone know?

The government’s reasoning is that they expect parents to cover a great many of the costs of bringing up their own children.
It’s the law that you pay your taxes, And get your car an MOT too, but the government isn’t going to pay you for the stamp or for the test.

John_

MNrhubarb said:

As for why they cannot get a job, have you done A Levels? It's still pretty much full time education, try getting a job in a rural location that fits in with school hours. 

I worked twenty hours per week in a supermarket during my A-levels, and saved up enough to be able to cover some of my costs in my first year of university.
I then blew the lot on a fortnight in Tenerife, but that’s not important right now.
There comes a point where you and your family need to start covering your own costs, and not expecting the state to help out, and this seems a good point to do so.
Your boy can get a bike, and cycle there, or get a job and cover the costs himself, or you could do some extra hours and cover the costs.
The state is providing him free education, it’s ludicrous to ask that they also pay to get him there.

missile

I had a job and walked over a mile to attend secondary school.