WWYD re. lift sharing

[ZigZagToTheBeach]

DS14 shares a lift to school with two other friends in his class/bubble with one parent driving. Not ideal but they are in a bubble together anyway. Another child who is not in their class/bubble or sharing a household with them is now going to start lift sharing too. I feel much more uncomfortable with this as another bubble is being introduced into the mix. In an enclosed space. Should I end the arrangement for my DS? It feels like the right thing to do but he is going to be so angry about it. WWYD?

I wouldn’t have allowed the initial lift as regardless of bubbles they are still meant to be SD outside of school.

Why wasn't your DS complying with current rules anyway?
Of course I would stop him having a lift in future. I would have not allowed it in the first place.

Difficult to advise without knowing what the alternative is, eg if your DS would otherwise be using public transport or travelling on a packed school bus then the lift arrangement might be safer.

We usually lift share with 2 other families (kids in 3 different year groups) but we’ve pulled out of the arrangement at the moment.

One of the other parents definitely doesn’t see my point of view and they’re carrying on with the other family.
We’re doing everything that we can to avoid indoor situations and those where we can‘t socially isolate to minimise the chance of being contacted by track and trace. This seems an easy way of doing that (though the dc aren’t too happy at having a hefty walk home most nights!)

Car sharing is not banned as can be seen in the guidance below but there are steps to be taken to reduce the risk of transmission. The alternative would be me driving him but consequently this would mean reducing my working hours and therefore also my pay. I had initially weighed things up and decided to opt with the lift share and not further reduce our household income. With the additional child in the mix it has made me rethink again.
www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-safer-travel-guidance-for-passengers#private-cars-and-other-vehicles

I had an argument with one of my DCs about something similar. I think your concerns are justified. The other child shouldn’t be in the car. But you can’t do anything about that. You can model to him how to do the right thing and you can protect him.

I’d be cutting my work hours to drive him.

Presumably the distance to school means walking is out of the question? Do you know the lift-giving parent well enough to ask him/her to make sure that the car window next to your DS is open whatever the weather and that all the kids wear masks? I don't think the answer is obvious here because I think what is sensible depends on your family's financial position, your level of financial security, and also Covid rates in your area. You haven't mentioned anyone in your household being medically vulnerable, so I assume that's not the case?