Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To send a strongly worded email to school regarding the bus service?

36 replies

Acunningruse · 04/10/2024 12:53

DS has just started in Y7 and is on a school bus service provided by the school (NOT the Council) for which we pay £1000 a year.

Not once but twice this week the bus has failed to turn up, having broken down, leaving children at the bus stop for over an hour and 15 minutes before a replacement arrived.

I am absolutely raging and probably need to tone down my first draft 🙈 but AIBU to complain to school about leaving 11 year olds unaccompanied at a busy roadside for over an hour? Not to mention lost learning time etc.

OP posts:
taxguru · 04/10/2024 12:54

YANBU. If the school are arranging it, then yes, complain to the school. It's up to them to then complain to the bus company!

Lulu1919 · 04/10/2024 12:54

Hi
You should definitely let the school know ....although if they are late for school I assume they do know.
The company should send out a spare bus in this case..or arrange another bus company to go to the rescue.
Have the school not communicated with you ?

Chillisintheair · 04/10/2024 12:54

You would need to say in your email what you want them to do differently. What is it you want them to do?

Ellerby83 · 04/10/2024 12:56

I doesn't sound great but these things happen sometimes. Did the school inform you what was happening so that you could make alternative arrangements. My dcs school would email the parents.

TheWernethWife · 04/10/2024 13:06

My three grandchildren used to live in rural Inverness-Shire. A bus picked them up from the side of the road to take them to the local academy. Only one day, in the middle of winter, a bus appeared and they waived, the stupid driver waived back and carried on.

Beezknees · 04/10/2024 13:08

How exactly are they meant to prevent the bus from breaking down?

Don't be that person. It's annoying but what are they meant to do?

qualifiedazure · 04/10/2024 13:10

Bus breakdowns do happen sometimes. Did they let you know so you could have chosen to bring your child in yourself?

whiskeyarmadillo · 04/10/2024 13:12

Did your child not ring you when the bus didn't turn up?

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 04/10/2024 13:13

By all means write to the school so they can pass the complaint onto the bus company but leaving 11 year olds unaccompanied at a busy roadside for over an hour - is on you. If you are uncomfortable with this and there is a genuine safety risk then either you stay and wait until they get the bus or the bus stop is close enough for your child to walk home again if it doesn't turn up within a reasonable period.
Does the bus have an automated messaging service? Ours alerts if there are serious traffic delays, breakdowns or unexpected delays

mushpush · 04/10/2024 13:14

An hour and 15 minutes isn't a huge amount of time to wait for the replacement bus - I'm not sure how quickly you expect them to get a call from the driver to find out it's broken down, contact another driver, get the replacement bus sent out and the bus to drive the route to the stop?

It sounds like the company sorted a replacement in fairly good time! The bus isn't not turning up because they can't be bothered, it's a mechanical issue.

11 year olds should be fine waiting at a bus stop for a replacement or contacting their parents to let them know surely?

Original poster
Acunningruse · 04/10/2024 13:14

Yes i would have loved to take my child to school myself- but as I work in a job where Im not allowed my phone on me, i was unaware what happened until lunchtime. Do people honestly think we would be paying £1000 a year if taking him myself was an option?

OP posts:
qualifiedazure · 04/10/2024 13:19

Acunningruse · 04/10/2024 13:14

Yes i would have loved to take my child to school myself- but as I work in a job where Im not allowed my phone on me, i was unaware what happened until lunchtime. Do people honestly think we would be paying £1000 a year if taking him myself was an option?

Does your DS have an emergency contact he can call if you aren't available?

What were you hoping the school would do differently in future?

Octavia64 · 04/10/2024 13:22

Buses do breakdown.

It happens.

Sounds like they sent out a replacement in actually pretty reasonable time.

You can complain but there's not a lot they can do about a bus breaking down.

ThespTheo · 04/10/2024 13:25

What is your actual complaint? The original bus broken down, they sent a replacement. Your child should be correctly attired for the weather to enable them to wait safely for the replacement.

The replacement was there in a fairly timely manner.

SunshineSky81 · 04/10/2024 13:26

It happens , things break down or get delayed in traffic.
Does the company not run a tracker app which you can log onto to track the bus and have alerts for any delay?

Im not sure what answer you are looking for or how much of a delay you believe is reasonable.

If a company needs to source another driver and for that vehicle to be -
the seat size required
walk round inspected before leaving the depo
possibly fueled up
driver tacho'd in
and for the drive time for the depo to the first stop - which can be over an hour on some school routes, and that would be if there is a driver sitting at the depo with nothing to do who can do it within his driving hours.

If you are completely unreachable, then how do you think these emergency situations can be resolved?

Setyoufree · 04/10/2024 13:27

What would you like them to do? These things happen.

noworklifebalance · 04/10/2024 13:38

I am not sure why people are asking what the OP would like the bus company to do - it is for them to provide the solution, not OP.

If the bus company failed to deliver its paid for service twice in one week then I would expect them/the school to communicate with the parents explaining what the issue is and what they are planning to do about it, e.g. we apologise the recent disruption to our service and the inconvenience caused. There has been an issue with our fleet and we will be providing a temporary service using xxx-coaches. The safety of our pupils remain our priority, always blah blah.

HoppingPavlova · 04/10/2024 13:45

How do you expect them to magic up a replacement bus in less time? What’s your solution as it would be best to put one to them when you rage about it.

TickingAlongNicely · 04/10/2024 13:48

Did the school or bus attempt to notify you of the problem? (Email or text) or did they totally ignore the issue?

MumblesParty · 04/10/2024 13:52

Definitely worth complaining OP.
If the bus has broken down twice in a week then it suggests this company might not be fit for purpose, and the school should consider giving the contract to someone else. Yes buses break down, but it’s happened to my son’s bus about 4 times in 5 years, not twice in less than half a term.

Octavia64 · 04/10/2024 14:01

Honestly as someone who worked in education schools actually have to work quite hard to get bus/coach companies to take these contracts.

At secondary school the presumption is that in general the students are old enough to get themselves to school by walking, bike, scheduled bus service or school bus or lift. If there are problems (bike chain breaks, bus doesn't come etc) then again the presumption is that the student (and/or their parents) are able to deal with it.

Late busses were a permanent problem at the school I worked at - at least once a week there'd be an email saying bus number 6 is late reception will do their attendance.

Normally there are a whole load of students waiting at the bus stop. It's their responsibility to be wearing appropriate clothing (although I do know that getting a teen to wear a coat is almost impossible).

We've had situations before where due to an accident the buses just couldn't get through at all. Most kids went home and some were driven in by parents although with several roads closed they didn't get in until very late.

Ideally you need to sort your child out with a phone and someone to call who can help him out in an emergency. If you cannot answer calls at work that won't be you but he does need someone.

He could also carry a key to the house so he can go home if there is a really bad incident and the bus doesn't make it at all.

Macaroninecklace · 04/10/2024 14:14

You need to massively calm down. “Absolutely raging” is a ridiculous overreaction.

There’s nothing anybody can do about the occasional broken down coach - shit happens. Has your car never broken down or got a flat tyre? A couple of hours of lost learning in y7 is trivial.

Your child was presumably waiting safely with others at a bus stop and is completely fine - and honestly if they weren’t I’d argue they were your responsibility rather than the bus company or the school’s. Were school supposed to send a teacher to wait with children at every bus stop or something?! Send taxis?

Anywherebuthere · 04/10/2024 14:15

Complain if it makes you feel better!

But the reality is transport can break down and it can be late. There isn't always another bus available instantly to take it's place.

Do you have an alternative solution to suggest to the school?

Does your 11 year old have a phone? It's your responsibility to make sure they or the school have someone they can get in touch with if necessary if you can't answer your phone at work. Not just because of delayed transport but in case of another emergency.

A key to the house is also useful if he needs to walk back home.

Jifmicroliquid · 04/10/2024 14:19

They don’t have a spare bus waiting to jump in and go for every single bus route just incase. An hour and a half isn’t that long to wait. Things like this happen, fortunately not too often.

Autumn1990 · 04/10/2024 14:26

My primary aged children travel on a council arranged bus. We have had problems in the past but we were given the depot phone number. We are supposed to ring county hall at 8.15 am if the bus hasn’t arrived p, unfortunately no one is in who can deal with it. The bus depot, it’s a private company, are great. They can track the bus and say when it will arrive or tell us it’s going to be a long wait.

I think you’re right to complain but the school/bus company need to give out a contact number so the children can find out what’s happening. We have to ring up if the bus is more than 15 minutes late.