THOUSANDS of students across North Yorkshire could soon be facing charges of up to £10 a week for their journeys to school or college.

The move could ultimately generate almost £1m a year for North Yorkshire County Council, which is facing a struggle to balance its budget over the coming years.

But the authority admits such a step would be deeply unpopular with parents and students alike - and is now planning a major consultation exercise.

Currently, 95 per cent of local education authorities charge for the transport they provide for students over the age of 16, and North Yorkshire is one of only four shire counties which does not.

But the county council points out that, while the average spend for LEAs on home-to-school transport is about £15 a week per student, North Yorkshire is the highest spending, at more than £34 a week each.

And the introduction of education maintenance allowances (EMAs) - payments to students - in 2004 anticipated that about £10 a week of that allowance would be used on transport costs.

EMAs are payable at a level of £30 a week to students where parental income is up to £20,270, falling to £10 a week where parental income is up to £30,000.

If the authority agreed to introduce charges of between £5 and £10 a week, some 5,000 students across the county would be affected.

The council's executive member for education, John Watson, admitted: "We know that introducing charges for this service will be unpopular - but we are faced with having to make some very difficult decisions.

"We believe that considering the introduction of a charge is a responsible thing to do, but we want to consult as widely as possible before we do so, to try to determine what impact it might have, and what operational and practical issues it might raise for the rest of the transport network in the county.

"If we do decide that we have to introduce charges, it will be from September at the earliest, and even then it will only be for new students.

"We would honour the commitments previously given to students who were on continuing courses at that stage.

"It must be emphasised that the county council will maintain a network of services to cater for post-16 pupils."