TOP Thurrock councillors agreed to go out to tender on a series of schemes providing home-to-school transport in the borough.
Education portfolio holder, Cllr John Kent, told Wednesday (8 January) evening’s meeting of the council’s cabinet: “This council, like all others, is constantly having to find ways of saving money, sadly it is often in ways that are difficult for all concerned.
“For example, we are looking at ways to deliver savings in education transport while maintaining our statutory obligations. Thurrock has a long history of providing more than the minimum required, but that time is coming to an end.”
He said: “We have consolidated a number of routes so the total has reduced from 179 in 2011 to 140 in 2014; we have decommissioned Post-16 transport and supported the creation of the popular Post-16 bus pass – we are also looking at the possibility of a bus-pass for secondary school pupils.
“It is also important to note that all our contracts have a 56-day termination clause – so changes can be made if necessary without involving huge compensation costs.”
Cllr Kent explained the report also sought approval for how “ad-hoc” contracts are awarded. These occur usually when a new student moves into the area or where an existing contract is not available or a further special needs student requires transport.
“Finally,” he said, “we sometimes have spare places on existing transport. The report is seeking approval to double the cost of these places for pupils who do not qualify for free transport so we will move to a full cost recovery position and not heavily subsidise them.”
Members supported raising this charge from £200 to £400 a year.
Stop pupil taxis to the PRU at The Culver Centre and see how many thousands of pounds you’d save!