Is this unfair?

[ImagineRainbows]

Eldest child starts college next week for A levels and qualifies for a bus pass.

Me and her father are separated and share custody so she spends 4 days with me and 3 days with her dad. We live in separate but neighbouring towns. College is on the bus route of both towns.

Applying for her bus pass and they tell me she can only get the bus from one address and won’t be able to catch the bus from the other parents address. The bus goes to the stops at both addresses anyway but her pass would only be valid for one and she would need to pay for the bus at the other (same bus she would be using if she had the pass).

AIBU to think this is unfair? Surely if she qualifies she should get the pass from both addresses. This discriminates against children with parents who have separated and share custody surely.

She had a bus pass for high school and they had no problem adding a second pick up location on her pass so I’m sure it can be done.

What a load of nonsense!!! It defies common sense. Go to your MO

MP rather

She can’t walk / bike from dads house to my house in the morning as it’s 18 miles. We live in separate towns. Her dad doesn’t drive and while I do I also work full time and leave for work before she is even awake in the morning. The earliest bus from her dads house to my house would also get her to my house after her college bus has left so no solution there.

Both houses are more than the distance where they grant you a bus pass, they are happy to issue her a bus pass for either house. Just not both.

As others have said I doubt they will check where she gets off. It’s the getting there when she’s at her dads that is the problem.

• 8 miles not 18 miles. Not sure where the 1 came from.

Surely this a rule purposefully designed to impact people with separate parents?

There's no reason why a bus pass covering her for the route wouldn't also cover her getting on a closer stop. And I'm sure normal bus passes would cover this, it's just a purposefully dickish rule

Who dealt with it when you challenged? You need to keep going higher up until you're speaking to the top dog. They wont have deliberately designed it to impact on children with parents living separately. It will be something they hadnt thought through. If it goes to the top with no joy, then MP

It’s a specific college bus, not a public bus. It’s the exact same bus she would get but different stops. The stops she gets on / off are printed on the pass and it says she will not be allowed to get on at any other stop that the one listed so even though dads house is 7 stops closer they will not let her get on there.

That is beyond stupid, I can’t imagine a bus driver not letting someone on a bus when they have a pass for that route regardless of where they get on. On my college bus I’m not sure the driver even looked at my pass that closely.

I never get why people get stick for living rurally. My parents needed a bungalow for my mum’s disability, there are no bungalows in the town. They also couldn’t afford property prices in the town so they live three miles away. They pay council tax so have a right to complain about the services (or lack of them).

Living rurally isn't necessarily a choice. Plenty of people do jobs (e.g farming related) which simply can't be done in cities.

Yes, I have a friend who lives on a farm (with his school aged children) as part of his work contract.

Get her Dad to apply for a bus too at least to support the ridiculousness of the situation!!!

I suppose they could argue at her age she is beyond shared shared residency as it's her choice to continue to split her time between houses 50:50.

Get your mp involved?

That's ridiculous as it is the exact same bus, FFS.

@RandomMess She’s not beyond the shared residency age though, the court order lasts until she’s 18.

In the UK if she didn't want to abide court order she wouldn't be forced to by the courts! Usually from the age of 12 their wishes are taken into account!

Yes I know she wouldn’t be forced to abide to it but she wants contact with both her parents and the court order is still valid so suggestions like her not going to her dads half the week are not possible. I shouldn’t be expected to breach a court order to accommodate the college transport policies.