To think this is a good deal and we should take the money

[TastingTheRainbow]

Been struggling to decide this all day so hoping you can help.

My son has special needs and will be starting at a special needs high school in September that's 35 miles away (40 minutes in no traffic).

He is entitled to travel assistance as this is the closest school that could accommodate him and we have not sent him so far away by choice, plus we are a low income family. We thought this would be via a taxi but have had a letter saying if we transport him ourselves the LA will pay us £6800 a year.

That seems an unbelievable amount of money! My quick sums have calculated that with that money we could buy a car (we would need a second car as I take the only one to work), insure it and keep it on the road, cover the petrol cost required for the journey and still have money left over. Plus we then have the convieneve of two cars full time which we really need just can't afford.

If we say no to the money they will organise a taxi. This will be more inflexible however and will pick up at a set time, only waiting for 2 minutes, and can't be changed if he has after school clubs etc. We would then need to collect anyway.

AIBU to think that while it will may be a PITA to do the school run that far every day the money they are offering makes it the better option?

In the interest of fairness I should say it would be my partner not me doing the school run as I work full time and she dosnt. I have said it is her choice to decide however, she just thinks I may be missing the 'catch' somehow.

It does seem an awful lot of money, but perhaps 7k is still cheaper for the LA than paying a taxi for that distance, I'd imagine that to be the case.

If take it, if I were you.

I don't think 6.8k is enough to cover a car and insurance and 140 miles a day.

Not sure about the time it will take I did a 40 minute school run but for 6 months and it was a pita. But I would do it again if it was best for my child

And do you have other kids to consider?

Would they actually give you the money up front so you could buy the car now? Or would they pay it weekly/monthly? Could you still do it if it were the latter?

It's a fraction of what a taxi will cost

I think I'd take it, provided someone in the household had the time to spend 3 hrs on the road each day. If they repeat the offer the following year, you'll have paid off the car and be being paid to transport your son.

Daft question but do you qualify for motability?

There's also your time to factor. That would be 3 hrs 40 minutes which in reality would be now like 4 hours+. A day. It gives your son flexibility but readout cuts into any other responsibilities you might have.

What is your breakdown of costs? I use it would be a great deal if you're also able take up the slack financially if e.g. it didn't quite cover the petrol, or new tyres were needed or it broke down etc?

Does your partner want to spend all that time traveling everyday? Is it always likely to be "no traffic", 40 mins for 35 miles seems very quick? What about bad weather? What about servicing ?

A taxi would cost them more. I'd take it and get the car, just check how much fuel will be per day and if you can't afford maintenance. It will make things much easier if your da needs picking up early or late for any reason.

Ok so no we don't qualify for mobility. The car would only need to be a cheap run around and have estimated around £1000 to buy one which is what my current car cost. Yes someone has time to do it, my partner is a SAHM.

We have another child also at high school but she leaves the house at 8.30 am and gets a bus to the local secondary, she has a key and can let herself out and in although won't actually need to.

The LA will pay it in 4 instalments of £1700 with the first one paid on the 1st September. So we could use that one to buy the car and insure it and then each subsequent payment towards petrol. Also yes they will pay this each year so next year the saving will be more as we already then have two cars.

Additionally as I said it gives my son / us more flexibility and my partner has been saying we need 2 cars for the past year as I work 12 hour days so there is that added benefit.

If we do it for a year and find it dosnt suit us we can switch back to him being taxied but need to commit to doing it for at least the one school year.

And no it won't always be no traffic. On trial runs when we have taken him for introduction visits the traffic was clear at pick up but at 9am the journey took close to an hour. I have worked out its £35 per school day they are paying, that to me is worth the worst case scenario 4 hours travelling.

That works out at £35 per school day (190 school days per year). 140 miles a day plus at least 2hrs40mins of your partner's time sounds like much more than £35 per day! Time is invaluable. Do you have other kids she needs to be back to pick up?

I'm not sure that money would actually cover the cost of a car, insurance, maintenance (MOTs, new tyres, services, tax etc.) as well as the time and petrol spent doing this task.

I certainly wouldn't consider driving all of that way, twice a day, when there's no financial benefit and somebody willing to do it for me (taxi service). There will always be traffic. There will always be crashes on the motorway. There will always be snowy or rainy seasons when the journey is just that bit much more stressful. It just doesn't seem worthwhile.

Sounds great then - go for it! Having two cars is such a bonus.

You need something more than a cheap runaround if you're travelling 140 miles every day. You need something reliable with good fuel economy, which is likely to cost much more than £1000.

Sorry, I was typing my posts when you posted your updates.

I guess if you have an option to back out next year, it might be worthwhile trialling. It depends how much your partner values her time for the sake of being able to get a car "for free". I guess it's her choice.

Just realised my typo in my first post sorry! 25 miles each way not 35!! Still quite a distance though.

A £1700 car is not going to last 140 miles a day for long is it?

You need a reliable car which I can't see you getting for that amount.

OP, is it worth it to your DP as she's going to be the one doing the travelling?

My car cost £1000 is 13 years old and I drive 80 miles each day to and from work and have done for 2 years, it's always been fine. Would we really need a more expensive car? That will change things massively.

Partner is happy to do the driving if it makes finanancial sense yes but only if it's worth it, hence getting your help to see if it is and making sure I'm not being blinded by what is a massive amount of money to us.

My son goes to a special school, it's less than a mile away so I take him but don't get expenses, most children come by taxi but a few parents transport their children and are able to claim expenses. They have to submit a mileage claim form every month and payment takes a few weeks.
How are they paying the money? Is it a lump sum up front or a smaller amount each term - paid in arrears or in advance? Can you afford to buy a second car and claim mileage back each term?

£6,800 divided by 39 school weeks = approx £175 per week.
You would be driving 140 each day = 700 miles per week.
That works out at about 25p per mile.

id take the taxi. 40 min each way twice a day is massive. It would be different if it was enroute somewhere.

My ds gets a taxi to his SEN school. Im pretty sure in practice they wait longer than 2 minutes fairly often