Councillors are meeting with a major Nottinghamshire college to raise concerns about changes to its buses which some parents say will leave their children being "frowned upon" by staff. The West Nottinghamshire College, which has campuses in Sutton, Kirkby and Mansfield, has been working with bus providers over the last 11 months to create a new transport scheme.
Currently, the college operates contracted morning and afternoon bus services for its students, with the cost being £125 per year and free to students in receipt of financial assistance. Now, the college says it is ending its contracted services and that all students using a bus will be doing so on a public service.
The 'West Nottinghamshire College Travel Pass' will come into effect on August 24, providing unlimited travel across Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire seven days a week and at all times of the day. Financial support from Nottinghamshire County Council means that some of these public services will be enhanced, with the number 90 now being extended to Mansfield.
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But a meeting has been arranged after several Ashfield councillors received dozens of emails from parents who were worried about the change. One woman who lives in the village of Jacksdale has a daughter starting at West Nottinghamshire College in September.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "The journeys are going to be much longer and we do not have a good service from Trent Barton in the village anyway. My daughter is going to have to catch multiple buses and so if one is late or doesn't turn up, that then has a knock-on effect on the rest of the journey.
"If the children are then turning up to college late regularly, they will end up being frowned upon by staff and being labelled truant. We're feeling particularly left out where we are because we just don't have a reliable service as it is."
Explaining why the change was needed, Andrew Cropley, the principal and chief executive of West Nottinghamshire College, said: "With student numbers anticipated to increase significantly in the coming years, it was important the college explored alternative provision.
"As things stood, the college would have needed to almost double the number of buses it provides, which would have left us no choice other than to pass on much higher travel costs to our students. Furthermore, the college's existing service has not been immune to capacity issues or driver shortages and this has caused some challenges."
The college acknowledged that some journey times may take longer, but said students will not need to catch more than two buses. It also said the college day will be extended from September, with some lessons starting earlier and some finishing later to manage the volume of students on public buses.
But Councillor Rachel Madden, an Ashfield Independent County Councillor for Kirkby South said: "A number of parents have been in touch regarding the decision of West Notts College change their buses in September. They are rightly worried if Trent Barton are operating the service and the impact on their education.
"We will be meeting college bosses next week as we have real concerns about young people's education being impacted by being forced to use an currently unreliable bus operator." During just one day last December, Trent Barton announced the cancellation of 97 bus services.
The operator did not want to comment, but Andrew Cropley said: "Stagecoach and Trentbarton operate on all routes covered by our existing bus service and we will enhance these with additional buses between Mansfield and Sutton bus stations and our campuses at busy times. In addition, further outlying towns and villages will be part of our new offer, and there will be more pick-up and drop-off points in areas where our current buses have only a single pick-up location."
The pricing structure of the new travel pass will see students on a bursary and T-Level students getting one for free. Learners aged 16-18 will have the pass for a price of £18 per month for 10 months, whilst all other learners and staff will pay £38 per month.
Mr Copley added: "As well as providing access to our exciting range of courses, this will bring students numerous benefits including the ability to use a bus to attend work placements, go home when their lessons end rather than wait for an end-of-day college bus, and get home more easily from evening events or homework clubs.
"Students will also be able to use the travel pass in their leisure time at evenings and weekends. As such, we believe it represents excellent value for money.
“We see this move as providing students with continued access to college while offering them valuable life skills by gaining confidence in using public transport as they prepare for employment. We are confident our bus company partners have the capacity to meet the needs of every student and provide a reliable service."
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