£430 for one term of college bus fare

[Caerulea]

We've one secondary in our catchment & it has no 6th form so kids have to go to the nearest college which is 15 odd miles away - 1 hour 40 by bus.

We've just paid £430 for ONE TERM of bus fare!

The full year, if you could pay all at once, is £950.

If we do it termly it's going to be around £1.5k.

Daily would be £9

Isn't this just wrong on so many levels? Why are there deals at all & not just a set price? This is a low socio-economic area with low academic achievement & very rural. It's almost double what the first term was last year for DS2

I pay £700 for annual unlimited travel in my city and surrounding area. I think it’s worth it, but £950 to school and back? Outrageous!

Re bikes

An electric bike would make light of even the steepest Cornish hills and presumably there’s no reason why your son would have to be the type of cyclist that doesn’t pull over if he’s holding traffic up. I know there is more traffic than when I was a teen but I cycled miles and miles around Cornwall as a teen. There’s always somewhere to pull in if someone’s driving too close.
I still cycle a lot around the lanes near where I live. It wouldn’t cross my mind not to go out cycling because it might be dangerous. I use both an electric bike and a normal bike.

We also tried to get dd driving, unfortunately she failed the first test and because the booking system is completely broken she can’t get another for at least 6 months. Also insurance on her car will be at least £1500 so actually much more expensive option than the bus - even with a car donated by a lovely relative!

I'm afraid its been something you have to factor in when having kids as its been like this for a long time.

Our local secondary (free bus for up to Y11) is awful so we pay £1200 a year for a bus pass to a better school. When my twins start I will have to drive them all.

No free buses for 6th form which is ludicrous given education is compulsory until 18. A friend sent her son to the local crappy comprehensive and was going to send him to 6th form but didnt realise the council charged for a place on the school bus. £1000!!!

In the end she got together with 3 other parents and they take it in turns to drive. My friend drops them off 7.50am pn her way to work and the other 3 sort out pick ups.

And also not all kids can learn to drive, not just financially challenging but some disabilities can prevent driving. There really should be access to college for everyone.

For DD nearest college which offers her course is out of county.
She has £3 fixed fare bus (first of the morning) to town
£3 return train fare (thank you Railcard)
She's walking 25 mins to college to save a further £3.

If she wasn't happy to walk, accessing college would cost £15 a day. Just waiting on her timetable to see if it's £75 a week...

The closer college which doesn't offer her course subsidises bus 1 marginally, but then requires a 40 mins walk to college, or another £3 bus. It's still £12 a day or £60 a week.

There's no through ticketing due to different bus companies. Local firm from home to town, then arriva from town to college.

No financial support because we earn over £25k.

It’s the same here and worse for disabled children over 16 if they can’t use public transport. The cost of unavoidable travel is crippling.