FURIOUS parents are campaigning against the axing of a Wolverley school bus, fearing for their children’s safety.
The Broadwaters to Wolverley High School bus is due to be scrapped by Worcestershire County Council in September as part of plans to cut spending on subsidised bus services.
Pupils living in Sion Hill will have no nearby bus routes to the school, said Sarah Rook.
She added that following the authority’s bus cuts, there would only be four buses, instead of nine, travelling to the school but they “stopped too far from Broadwaters” for the children to catch.
Mrs Rook, whose children Connor, 13, and Demi, 16, go to Wolverley High, said she feared most youngsters would have to walk to school and cross the “busy” Wolverley Road, which could lead to an accident, if the 192 was cut.
She called for the county council to reinstate the bus service and set up a petition, which already has more than 100 signatures.
Despite that, the authority plans to push ahead with the axe, so parents’ only hope is that another operator will take over the service.
“The Wolverley Road isn’t safe to cross so there would be an accident if the bus was cut, “ said Mrs Rook, who is a member of the Broadwaters Action Group.
“There were nine buses and now there will be four.
“The buses that pick our children up for school will stop in Stourbridge Road or Heath Drive, which is too far from where we live.
“We live in a deprived area and I think they should remember that when they make these decisions.”
Conservative councillor John Smith, the county council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Following the review of bus services throughout the county and an extensive public consultation exercise, the decision was taken to withdraw the Sion Hill to Wolverley Secondary School service.
“This was based on a number of factors, one of which was the distance travelled by pupils – around one and a half miles."
He added: "We are currently working with local people and the school to see if we can assist in providing an alternative in the future.”
A county council spokesman said that the authority was working with the school and community to see if the service could continue using alternative funding.
He said the council would be happy to help when it came to tendering the contract to operators.
Pictured Sarah Rook with Labour councillor Mumshad Ahmed, with the petition and residents campaigning against the school bus axe.
The Broadwaters to Wolverley High School bus is due to be scrapped by Worcestershire County Council in September as part of plans to cut spending on subsidised bus services.
Pupils living in Sion Hill will have no nearby bus routes to the school, said Sarah Rook.
She added that following the authority’s bus cuts, there would only be four buses, instead of nine, travelling to the school but they “stopped too far from Broadwaters” for the children to catch.
Mrs Rook, whose children Connor, 13, and Demi, 16, go to Wolverley High, said she feared most youngsters would have to walk to school and cross the “busy” Wolverley Road, which could lead to an accident, if the 192 was cut.
She called for the county council to reinstate the bus service and set up a petition, which already has more than 100 signatures.
Despite that, the authority plans to push ahead with the axe, so parents’ only hope is that another operator will take over the service.
“The Wolverley Road isn’t safe to cross so there would be an accident if the bus was cut, “ said Mrs Rook, who is a member of the Broadwaters Action Group.
“There were nine buses and now there will be four.
“The buses that pick our children up for school will stop in Stourbridge Road or Heath Drive, which is too far from where we live.
“We live in a deprived area and I think they should remember that when they make these decisions.”
Conservative councillor John Smith, the county council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “Following the review of bus services throughout the county and an extensive public consultation exercise, the decision was taken to withdraw the Sion Hill to Wolverley Secondary School service.
“This was based on a number of factors, one of which was the distance travelled by pupils – around one and a half miles."
He added: "We are currently working with local people and the school to see if we can assist in providing an alternative in the future.”
A county council spokesman said that the authority was working with the school and community to see if the service could continue using alternative funding.
He said the council would be happy to help when it came to tendering the contract to operators.
Pictured Sarah Rook with Labour councillor Mumshad Ahmed, with the petition and residents campaigning against the school bus axe.
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