School bus pass appeal on safety grounds

[Plymman]

Hi,
can anyone offer advice on how to appeal a school bus pass on safety grounds?

We got a letter a few weeks back saying that although we're within the 3 miles to school (2.8 miles by their distance) we would get a bus pass as the route has been assessed as unsuitable. Great.

Last week a neighbour appealed their refusal of a pass citing our acceptance.

Today we got a letter saying that was a mistake and we won't get a bus pass.

We walked their mapped route today and it is quite frankly ridiculous. It is along what was once dedicated footpaths but are now so unused the footpath isn't visible and is overgrown with grass and bramble to adult shoulder height. A good portion is through farmers fields where he has crop growing to the hedge leaving no path at all other than tractor tyre tracks in the mud. The path is all on grass or mud across hedged fields with no light. The walk took us 1 hour and 15 minutes at adult pace.

I've read that if you appeal on safety grounds they are only interested in traffic danger.

Can anyone offer any advice? We're not in a financial position to pay £250 per year for the pass and neither do we have a car we can use to get her to school (my wife uses it for a 30 mile commute to work and leaves at 7 am).

Thanks.

Just to clear something up, when I said no light, I meant no street lighting, there is natural, however at 1 1/2 hours to walk, in the winter it will be dark when she's walking and will have to use torch light. I have videoed the walk and plan to upload it for the council to see.

I don't have any answers but we have a very similar problem. It seems crazy to expect an 11 year old to walk so far alone. We live along a 60 mph road with no pavement but inside the 3 mile limit (2.6 miles). Apparently it is fine for walking!

It's completely maddening! At a walking pace of 4 mph on streets and pavements maybe it's not too much to expect someone to have a 40 minute walk to school.

An hour and half seems ridiculous. They're only interested in road traffic safety issues as they expect the child to be accompanied.

How many working parents can spend almost 6 hours a day (school - home, home- school) walking almost 12 miles a day to do the school pickup and drop off?

A straight line distance on lit pavement is one thing, a ramble through fields, farms and hedgerows is something else entirely.

We live along a 60 mph road with no pavement but inside the 3 mile limit (2.6 miles). Apparently it is fine for walking!

Have they actually assessed it as suitable? Appeal if so!

OP it sounds like a very cut and dried case to me - send your photo evidence (easier and quicker to see that a video). Can you get your local councillor on your side too? Is there even a public right of way through the farm?