Free transport primary school - help!

[Lostandlostsomemore]

Apologies as crossed posts, my other post won't open for some reason.
We have just moved to surrey and have completed our list of preferences.
I requested a vacancy list and as on 17/08 the only school with a place is 7 miles away.
So I've added that to my list as obviously better than no place at all.
From reading on surreys website they will reimburse petrol costs if a school is more than 2 miles away, but what if between now and September another school has a place that is still over the 2 miles but closer than the 7 mile one, will they automatically allocate him with that one or would they give me my preference but then not help with transport?
From what I'm reading it has to be the nearest school available and obviously this can change daily at the moment :(

Yes, they only have to provide transport to the nearest suitable school. You probably need to phone them to find out how it works, but I suspect that once a child has been allocated they don't change it unless asked - they would be aware that you will be buying uniform and preparing the child for that school, and it would mess schools around too much

By the way, transport shouldn't be limited to just refunding petrol: they should pay a mileage allowance which covers things like wear and tear, insurance, road tax etc. The Inland Revenue allowance is around 45p per mile, and it could be worth finding out what they pay by way of mileage to councillors and employees. Also they can't just assume that parents will be able to drive children, they should offer things like school buses and taxis.

And they may only offer a bus or taxi if they have one going that way, because that would be cheaper for them than paying a mileage allowance. We had to turn down the free transport as weren't prepared to put a young 4 yr old on a 40 minute bus ride on top of the school day.

According to the councils website ( surrey ) mileage is preferred rather than taxi services as the cost of the driver and escort is by far more expensive.
I wouldn't put a 4 year old in a cab or bus without a parent anyway :-(

No, we wouldn't either, hence no free transport for us. Luckily we could afford to drive. Unfortunately they'll just do whatever's cheaper for them in the circumstances. So if they're already taxi-ing one child that direction they may consider it cheapest to add another child to the existing service. Not sure what exactly Surrey will refund if they do agree mileage but given friends' experiences of them it'll probably be the bare minimum they can get away with.

If it was you on the other thread - really think they'll come up with a closer place for you if you hang on. I would. 7 miles would be a right pain, specially in mornings in the area you mentioned. You'll be wanting to go over lots for things like assemblies and parents' evenings and play dates and stuff, not just the school day. Surrey does shuffle around in September, a lot go private and they don't always do the right thing and decline their state places early.

Yes that was me on the other thread.
Well exactly that's the point and they def only cover the run there and back not a round trip or anything so I would have to hang around all day or try and manage to pay myself.
I have emailed them asking for that prefernce to be taken off my list as I was unaware if I requested it myself and got it, I lose my entitlement to transport.
I can wait until January to see what comes up, what do they do, see if kids don't turn up in September and then start ringing around to see why before assuming the child isn't going to turn up? What if they're sick / away, I wonder how long the school hold out for before giving the place to someone in the waiting list?