Fuel shortages/rationing and exams and training

[Pinkprescription]

Unless something changes rapidly, I fear we will shortly enter a prolonged period of fuel shortages and potential rationing. Some of this will be caused by panic buyers stuffing in a fiver every day and no doubt they’ll queue for hours to get their rationed amount in at every station.
my kids can’t be the only ones with GCSEs and A-Levels who have no reliable public transport option to their rural state school. There was a bus that leaves once a day but when busy it won’t collect from certain stops as this adds time onto the journey. Despite the school campaigning for years the service is wholly unreliable hence getting my eldest a car.

The 12 mile journey is too far to walk or cycle safely. College is rural so no hotel or air bnb. What can be done?
Likewise a friend’s son is an apprentice with a 15 mile journey cross country. No fuel means the apprenticeship is gone. Living away from home for work too.

Suggestions:

speak to your child find out if any of his friends live close to the school enough to walk and then closer to the time you can consider asking if he can stay over there

find out if any other parents have an electric car and are going that way - electricity won’t be rationed

cycle

Exactly, if everyone did the same we'd be fine at the moment, no 'shortages'. 🌷😊

If rationing did come in they would need to prioritise certain groups.

Essential workers.
Food supplies.

And you would assume people whose livelihoods depends on fuel would also be prioritised unless the government wants to pay them to sit at home.

So taxi drivers-
Driving instructors-

I honestly can’t see that exams are even important once you follow the line down to HGVs, food getting intto the shops, people being able to buy the food. I live in a village with no shops. The nearest supermarket is a 20 minute drive. I’d quite like my kids to be able to eat. Sod exams.

I'm very glad that the government are likely to take a different view on the importance of public exams (assuming that COVID would be a predictor) than "sod exams". The answer will be that if the worst comes to the worst they'd do a COVID style assessment for grades. Sod exams is a fine attitude to take for SATS but not for GCSEs and A levels. Both of mine were affected by the lockdowns interacting with public exams - both coped but it was very stressful for them. Frankly that is going to be the worst case scenario and there are other contingencies as a PP mentioned that could be looked at first.

Absolutely. Sadly no electric public transport near me but it’s in the city. I also can’t afford to just go out and by an EV. I’d rent one but I don’t have a charging point and live miles from one

All great ideas. Nobody living out our way has an EV and all mates live nearby. Some take the now full bus at £500 a child per term.
cycling is possible but 12 miles and 4 down a major a road makes me worry. Both have exams for around 15-18 days. I’d up to 5 I wouldn’t worry