Students Protest Proposed School Bus Service Reductions

Students, expressing anger over proposals to eliminate two school bus services, demonstrated outside Bradford’s City Hall while councillors convened to discuss the cuts. Bradford Council plans to discontinue routes serving St Bede’s and St Joseph’s Catholic School and Bingley Grammar School as part of an initiative to save £40m. The council states that these services cost up to £13,500 per pupil to operate and that it can no longer afford to subsidise students. Campaigners argue that scrapping the buses will create difficulties for students, while one head teacher indicated that losing the service could impact admissions. Two distinct petitions related to the services facing discontinuation were presented to officials on Tuesday. Prior to the meeting, Wendy Crowe, a member of the Save Our SBSJ School Buses campaign, stated it was “extremely important” for the council to reconsider the plans, particularly because she believes “the infrastructure to move to public transport just doesn’t exist in Bradford today.” She also noted that the changes raised “safety issues” for children commuting across the city. Year 11 pupil Sam Wanless is among approximately 900 students from St Bede’s and St Joseph’s who rely on bus transport. “For me, it would mean every morning I’m having to leave the house so much earlier to get the bus to town and then try and find the bus to school,” he said. He added, “And then when I’ve got to go home and revise and do my homework, it’s going to be a lot harder because I’ve got a lot less time.” Concurrently, Year 13 pupil Mohammed Nisar Ahmed expressed concern that cutting the bus services would lead to more people driving, resulting in increased air pollution. Lawrence Bentley, head teacher of St Bede’s and St Joseph’s School, commented that the loss of the bus service could affect admission numbers and ultimately threaten the school’s future. He explained, “Those on the outskirts of the city find it difficult getting in anyway because of the logistics, because of the expense.” He further warned, “Once this transport is taken away, the families of vulnerable children will be hit that much harder.” Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe stated that the plan – which is projected to save £500,000 annually – was “fundamentally all about money.” She affirmed, “We really value our young people and their future,” but clarified, “But we’re looking at [costs of] £13,500 per eligible pupil for Bingley Grammar and over £8,000 per pupil for St Bede’s and St Joseph’s.” The BBC understands that around 1,300 pupils across the two schools currently use the school buses, but only 62 qualify for free school transport. Hinchcliffe added, “We are financially challenged as a local authority, as many are around the country, so we have to look at things like this.”