Parents at Boroughbridge High School have expressed concern about the lack of information on changes to a Boroughbridge bus service.
Duncan Gray, whose granddaughter is a pupil at the school, contacted the Stray Ferret after the number 22, which formerly took students from Ripon to the school, ceased operating.
French-owned Transdev, which operated the route, has handed over the service to East Yorkshire Buses. According to East Yorkshire Buses’ website, the changeover has been funded by North Yorkshire Council, and pupils now must use the 82 or 83 to get to school.
The new service runs between Ripon bus station and York, via Boroughbridge and surrounding villages.
However, Mr Gray said parents were “not informed” about the change of operator and he added pupils’ Transdev tickets were no longer valid on the new service.
He said:
“The timetable has changed, meaning the kids arrive at school five minutes before start time. My granddaughter and dozens of other kids didn’t get to school until 9.30 today.
“There was no consultation on this transfer of service.”
Mr Gray also said pupils with Transdev tickets were initially refused to travel on the new service. However, after “protests from parents” the pupils were eventually permitted, he added.
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Another parent, Tasha Newcombe, also expressed concern about the short time pupils now have to catch the bus after school.
She told the Stray Ferret the changeover had been an “absolute shambles”, adding:
“I know that on pick-up in the afternoon the new bus gets there slightly earlier, meaning the children are now having to rush as soon as the end of the day bell goes.
“The [new] bus is smaller, so on the way home yesterday the kids were all stood up all the way back on country lanes.
“There were a lot of anxious children yesterday when they saw the new bus and were told their pre-bought tickets were not valid for the new bus.”
The Stray Ferret contacted Boroughbridge High School to ask about the new service, including whether the school was aware of the change, but it declined to comment.
We also approached Transdev and East Yorkshire Buses about the move, but neither firm replied by the time of publication.
The news comes after major changes to several Harrogate district buses were announced last week. However, the termination of the 22 was not included in the listed changes.
