Optimise School Bus Services

Local authorities have statutory obligations to provide school transport for eligible pupils. Eligibility is defined by criteria based on age, distance away from school and safety of the route. The school transport policy that defines this criteria has not been updated in any meaningful way since it was first drafted in 1944, rendering it in urgent need of modernisation.

Local authorities spend over £1.7bn a year on school bus services and taxis to meet the above obligations. However due to the outdated policy and budgetary constraints, their transport provisions often do not meet modern parental expectations. This results in many buses, whilst showing as full on paper due to parents taking up their free entitlement, running over half empty. 

See an example of how HomeRun helped identify such a case below:

Each subsidised seat on the bus costs the local authority £700-£900 per annum.

In addition to taking up bus passes, eligible pupils driven by private cars to this school are significantly increasing congestion on the bus route.