Concerned parents have launched a bid to introduce better safety measures for children travelling on public buses after a bespoke school service was withdrawn. 

Dedicated transport to St Leonard’s Catholic in Durham is set to be removed in favour of a cheaper public service. 

The school says the recently-announced £1 bus fare scheme for children will benefit pupils and be cheaper for parents over the course of the year, but concerns have been raised over the safety of services. 

Parents worried about sending their children to the secondary for the first time in September say nearby North Road, where hundreds of pupils will board buses in the city, is dangerous and not suitable for 11 year olds. 

They have urged school staff to continue the service but have so far failed.

Terri Hosler, of Waterhouses, is worried about how her son will get to school safely. She said: “My son is 10, he's on the Neurodevelopmental Pathway, how am I supposed to put him on a public service bus? If they aren’t going to have a school bus, you’re looking at schoolchildren descending on North Road in Durham with no supervision, where it’s been well publicised that it's an unsafe place.”

That feeling of worry is also shared by Amy Ashton. “I really wish there was a school bus,” she said. “It fills me with anxiety as I fear the number of kids using it and limited service is going to cause some real issues. I really would like to keep her away from North Road but getting home looks like it's going to involve that.”

A third parent, who wished to remain anonymous, says public bus services are unreliable. She added: “I personally would rather pay four times the £1 bus fare to keep the school bus. Last year, my daughter had to use the public bus and I battled to get a school bus. The peace of mind I’ve had while my daughter has been on it has been incredible. The morning bus is often cancelled and we live in a rural village, so if it’s cancelled my daughter is late for school.”

The current school bus fare is around £70 per month, more than the new £1 fares, but parents say they’re willing to pay more and say it’s “dismissive and naïve” to suggest the cheaper fares will be enough. 

Ms Hosler added: “The school is saying they don’t think there will be a demand for school buses because of the £1 bus fares. Where is the duty of care from staff to ensure that children are safe? They’re just unleashing them after school.”

Now, parents have united to make the experience safer for children. New proposals include: supervision for year 7/8 children on North Road; increased police presence on mornings and late afternoons; a permit system to allow drop offs and pickups outside the school; and an ability for parents to use nearby bus lanes to ease congestion. 

St Leonard’s says the new fares have been welcomed by the majority of parents, however, and some dedicated school services have been retained. Staff will work over the summer holidays to see if the safety requests can be met. 

A spokesperson for St Leonard's Catholic School, said: “We were delighted when the £1 bus fare was introduced earlier this year and many of our families have now taken the opportunity to use public buses to travel to school.

“Where families have not been able to take advantage of this, mostly because it would have taken two bus journeys to travel to Durham, we have retained school bus services.

"We are working with everyone to ensure a smooth transition to public buses, and have already outlined some of these areas to parents, including the school being open from 8am for all pupils and assisting Year 7 to the bus stops in their first week. We are currently reviewing access to the school site to see if we can facilitate parental drop-off and pick-up.

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Durham County Council has worked in partnership with the school to procure the service but said the final decision was down to them. The authority currently provides free home to school transport for children where the journey is more than three miles. 

Cathy Knight, integrated passenger transport manager, added: “The school’s decision will not impact those children who are eligible for the free home to school transport we provide and we will ensure they continue to benefit from that when the new school year starts in September.”