Following extensive consultation and a successful pilot exercise held earlier this year, East Ayrshire Council’s Cabinet has taken the difficult decision to remove the non-statutory subsidised school transport service for secondary schools only from June 2025.
East Ayrshire is currently the only local authority in Scotland that provides this non-statutory service.
The service was introduced in 2012 and was intended to make use of a small number of unused seats on transport that was commissioned for the statutory service. However it has grown well beyond this and with the cost to the Council for this now being in excess of half a million pounds for 2024/25, this is unfortunately no longer sustainable.
An initial review of the locations of the homes of those pupils accessing the non-statutory subsidised school transport service found that there are existing local buses services within reasonable walking distance of all of these locations. This review, along with consultation with teachers, parents and pupils, then led to the creation of the pilot exercise, which ran from 29 May to 14 June this year. It involved secondary pupils who currently use non-statutory subsidised school transport using active travel routes or public bus services to get to and from school instead.
Pupils used walking routes to schools; public bus services with the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme card; or a pilot bus service provided by Stagecoach which ran directly from the north-west of Kilmarnock to New Farm Loch, stopping at both Kilmarnock Academy and St Joseph’s Academy.
Analysis of the pilot exercise showed that public bus services had been well used and that any issues that had arisen during the three weeks were identified and dealt with swiftly. A survey sent to pupils and parents following the exercise found that parents and carers indicated that if the service was withdrawn, their children would use the pilot bus, be driven to school, or take the service bus in that order of preference. However, young people indicated that their preference would be to use the service bus, travel actively, or be driven to school, all in preference to using the pilot service.
The pilot routes from the North of Kilmarnock were found to have operated well during the pilot exercise but with a smaller uptake than anticipated. Stagecoach West Scotland has confirmed that providing additional services or resources would not be commercially viable, however it remains open to discussions with the Council on what can be provided to enhance its existing local bus services.
Just prior to schools stopping for the summer break, council officers, elected members and young people from Kilmarnock, Grange and Robert Burns Academies walked the current suggested walking routes to schools to assess whether any upgrades are required. These visits have resulted in some planned changes which will link in with work already being carried out as part of the Kilmarnock Infinity Loop project. This includes the provision of a controlled pedestrian crossing on Glasgow Road and the creation of a signalised junction with pedestrian facilities at Logan to ensure safe crossing to the footpath. All of this work has been brought forward in the project schedule to ensure that it will be finished early next year.
The review of walking routes also provided valuable insights into the pupils’ preferred routes and how they differed from those which had been identified.
The Council will still be meeting its statutory responsibilities to provide transport for pupils who live a certain distance from school. National guidance on the minimum distance that pupils should live from school before being entitled to free school transport is two miles up to the age of 8, and three miles for children aged 8 and over. In practice, the distance of two miles is typically applied to primary education and three miles for secondary education.
Councillor Jim McMahon, Cabinet Spokesperson for Housing, Transport and Communities, said:
“We have come to this difficult decision based on a lot of research, consultation, and the outcomes of the pilot exercise. In removing the non-statutory subsidised school transport service from next year, we will still be acting fully in accordance with the relevant statutory duty to make provision for transport to support pupils attending school. Operating in an extremely challenging financial climate means that it’s simply unsustainable for the Council to continue providing this non-statutory service with the high costs that are involved.
“But where there are challenges, there are also opportunities. Collaborating with the Infinity Loop project will significantly improve active travel routes to secondary schools, while reducing school transport usage and the development of active travel will also support our Climate Change Strategy.
“I thank all of the pupils, parents and teachers who have taken part in any consultation work or the pilot exercise. Their feedback has been invaluable in helping us come to this decision, and we will continue to welcome feedback on the new arrangements when they begin next June.”