Parents panic as bus firm stops school service a week before term starts...

[dutchman]

Emma Johnson has started a WhatsApp group with parents to find a new bus operator



Hundreds of pupils will have to find alternative ways of getting to school after a bus firm withdrew its services just before the new academic year.

Parents said they have been left panicking after the Green Bus company, which operates in the West Midlands, informed them on Saturday.

The firm said it had been close to finding a replacement provider but they withdrew from the deal on Thursday.

Parents who have paid for the upcoming school year will be refunded, it said.

In the letter to parents, chief executive Ian Mack said the decision had been made due to the "costs of providing our services now exceed the income we receive".

He had had to let staff go which was was "one of the most difficult things I have done," he said.

"Sadly, it is simply unsustainable for small operators to survive in the rapidly-declining marketplace for local bus services," he wrote.

The company operated services in Warwickshire, south Birmingham, Longbridge, Rubery and Catshill in Worcestershire.

Parent Travis Roberts, from Wythall near Bromsgrove, said his daughter had used the 502 service to make the 12-mile journey to Alcester Grammar School in Warwickshire, for the last two years.

"It's galvanised a lot of people into action, there are lots of people contacting local bus providers.. but we're kind of at the mercy of Warwickshire Council as they need to fix the problem," he said.

He said communication from Green Bus had been quite poor.

"Sending an email on a Saturday over a bank holiday weekend with so little time to make alternative arrangements is poor....but mostly I feel sorry for the drivers who have lost their jobs," he added.

Emma Johnson said her daughter was starting year seven next week and she had been co-ordinating with parents on the 502 double decker Kings Heath to Alcester route by setting up a WhatsApp group.

More than 100 parents had joined.

"The main aim of the group was making sure we had something set up for next week whether it be a bus company taking on the route or whether its sharing taxis or lift sharing but we knew we needed something set up," she said.

Alcester Grammar School said school transport arrangements were the responsibility of parents but it had begun liaising with other schools, local authorities and transport providers to explore potential solutions "as a result of this incredibly late decision".

Stuart Mace from Lapworth in Warwickshire said a change in provider would have been welcomed.

Finding new transport would be harder for pupils in more rural areas, he said.

Accounts lodged at Companies House up to July 2022 show the bus firm owed more than £1m and while it was owed £1.3m, cash in its bank account stood at just over £44,000.

In the letter to parents, Green Bus said a 38.1% increase in motor insurance premium from August made its networks financially loss-making.

[dutchman]

Transport scramble for stranded West Midlands school pupils

Parents of pupils left without school transport days before the new term begins say they are facing a scramble to find alternatives and pay for them.

One coach firm said it could take 250 pupils but said it could not cover all the affected areas.

Becs Ridley, from Ridleys Coaches in Warwick, said the firm had increased capacity to take 250 more pupils and added two new routes.

But demand from parents to buy its passes for £1,050 for the year crashed its IT system on Wednesday, she added.

The firm said it had added stops to some routes to serve certain schools, but not all.

Warwickshire County Council said it had secured transport with Ridleys for 52 eligible pupils the authority had a statutory duty for.

A range of local bus and train firms were working with the council to find other alternatives, a spokesperson added.

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Green Bus company fails to issue refunds - parents



Parents have said they are still waiting for refunds for school transport after it was cancelled.

Hundreds of West Midlands pupils were left in limbo when the Green Bus firm stopped services a week before the new school year, blaming rising costs.

Green Bus chief executive Ian Mack previously said there were "plenty of funds available" to refund parents.

It operated school routes in Warwickshire, south Birmingham, Longbridge, Rubery and Catshill.

Parent Harriet Pritchard (pictured above) said she had paid the full cost of the transport - £1,095 - up front and had not yet received a refund, despite being promised one.

She has had to buy a second bus pass for her son.

"I'm now out of pocket to the tune of £1,900," she said.

"I'm a single parent and as Christmas gets a bit closer this is a real impact on me."

Emma Johnson said she had surveyed about 100 other parents on a WhatsApp group, with 60 replying to say they also had not had a refund.

"Some people have been refunded through the bank, like I have, but some people haven't had anything," she explained.

"If they have paid us in advance for the whole year then there will be an automatic refund through the stripe system," Mr Mack told the BBC in an interview at the end of August.

"If they've paid us through direct debit they have paid one instalment of about £100. They've been asked to email us with their bank details and we will get it back to them within the next 14 days."

An email was sent to some parents stating they would be issued with refunds by the end of business on Tuesday 26 September.

The company boss now needed to do "as he's promised," Ms Johnson said.

"He promised we would get a refund in 14 days on the BBC, we didn't get that. We've had promises since - these promises for Tuesday we don't know if it's going to happen or not."

The BBC has approached Mr Mack for a comment.

[rebbonk]

Doesn't look good, does it?