A major bus provider in North Lanarkshire said it was unaware of the potential for hundreds of additional student passengers on public bus routes until the start of this school year.

First Bus confirmed through a spokesperson that the company was not told about cuts to North Lanarkshire Council’s school transport until Tuesday, August 13, the day before schools opened for the new term and hundreds of students queued to ride public commercial routes to school.

For many students, this week is the first time they are taking a public bus to school, and it has not been a universally smooth transition. This week, parents have flooded the NLC Save Our School Bus Facebook page with comments, tips, information and concerns about bus routes serving secondary schools across North Lanarkshire.

This situation results from North Lanarkshire Council’s changes to its school transport policy. This year, only students living more than three miles from their secondary school are eligible for school transport.

Previously, anyone more than two miles away was eligible.

Parents initially reacted to the changes with frustration, citing concerns about the safety of the routes that young people are now expected to walk, the impact that increased traffic could have on schools and small communities, and the pressure that hundreds of students will place on public bus routes every morning and afternoon.

The Herald can reveal that one major bus provider in the area, First Bus, has confirmed that it received no communication from the council ahead of the bus cuts, a policy change that was originally agreed on 8 June 2023.

A First Bus spokesperson said the company learned about the changes and the potential impact on passengers on 13 August through a “chance” conversation with the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).

“We can confirm we didn’t receive any communication from North Lanarkshire Council ahead of their school transport cuts.

“As a result, we were unaware of these changes until we found out by chance through speaking to SPT.

“Had this not happened, we would have been completely unaware of the changes which in our view is unacceptable.”

The spokesperson added that, after receiving SPT’s estimates of the increased demand on public routes, First Bus has been observing services closely and “looking at the solutions available to us to help cope with the increased number of passengers.”

North Lanarkshire Council has said that it held consultations with stakeholders, including the SPT, about the school transportation changes.

 “They were made aware of the proposed changes and the potential impact on services. As outlined previously, the qualifying distance in North Lanarkshire for secondary school pupils requiring home-to-school transport is in line with the majority of local authorities in Scotland and parents and carers are responsible for getting children and young people to school safely.”

A spokesperson for the SPT said that the partnership administers school transport contracts for the local council, which decides what services it requires.

Bumpy start to new school year

As parents have told The Herald and shared widely on social media, this week’s return to school was characterised by difficulties for students taking unfamiliar bus routes to and from school.

Students and parents reported that buses to and from Chryston High School from the Stepps area were overcrowded, and some students had to wait more than 45 minutes for another service when earlier buses had to leave without them because they were full.

This week, local councillors have written to First Bus and the SPT about concerns regarding a specific route, 38C, which many students are now riding to Chryston High School.

In letters seen by The Herald, SNP Councillor Josh Cairns wrote to the SPT and First Bus on Friday, raising concerns about “severe overcrowding and increased demand on the 38C service in the Stepps and Chryston areas.”

The letter outlined concerns from parents raised over the past few days, and Mr Cairns said that the situation has created “safety risks” for students.

“Since the start of the school term, it has become clear that the current service is struggling to cope with the increased number of passengers, especially during school pick-up and drop-off times.

“This has resulted in overcrowding, with numerous children standing throughout the journey or, worse, being left behind due to the bus being full to capacity.”

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However, concerns about the execution of the council’s new transportation policy began well before school reopened this week. Throughout the summer, parents raised concerns with the council over the safety of walking routes and the validity of the council’s consultation and assessment processes.

For example, parents of students at Chryston High School were left confused in early August when they were notified about work being carried out by the council on a Dewar Road crossing, including “widening the standing area on the traffic island.”

This was despite the council previously stating that the route was acceptable in the face of multiple safety complaints—some of which were about the exact crossing in question.

When asked about the nature of the works, the council told The Herald that the crossing was assessed as acceptable and the work on Dewar Road was part of its continual road improvements programme.

The council did not clarify how long the work had been on the schedule or why it did not mention the planned work when parents complained about the unsafe crossing.

This year is just the beginning

Concerns about the planning and rollout of the changes to secondary school transport are relevant not just to students currently trying to navigate a new way to school. Parents are also putting pressure on the council now in the hopes of a smoother transition next year, when the same changes are scheduled to take effect at primary schools.

Beginning in August 2025, primary pupils living more than two miles from their school will no longer be eligible for free council transportation.

Previously, transportation was available to those living more than one mile away. The changes do not impact any primary or secondary students attending additional support needs schools.

A council spokesperson said that walking route assessments for primary schools are already underway and that parents and carers can expect confirmation of their eligibility in 2025.

In a post on its X account, the North Lanarkshire SNP Group announced that it has filed a motion for the next full council meeting calling for a new working group to “review and update the criteria which routes are based on.”

The motion also asks that all secondary school transport provision be reassessed to comply with any new recommendations from the working group.