Pupils under three miles from Esher school lose free bus passes
Free school buses are being axed after a cross country route has been judged safe by Surrey County Council.
Parents say, the letter outlining the new walkable route explicitly states that the “personal safety issues of children travelling alone” was not a consideration by Surrey County Council.
About 81 children from Esher High School are said to be affected.
Compounding the problem, the county council has stated further funding to increase capacity on regular bus services is not available.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands parents are appealing the decision and have been in touch with Surrey Police over the matter.
It comes just weeks after parents in South Nutfield were told children could walk across open rail tracks and flood prone cow fields as the county council looks to make further service cuts.
Children who live more than three miles from their nearest school are eligible for free buses, The new route across the heath brings the distance down to just under that mark and therefore the children have been told they no longer qualify for the service.
The council has said the move will save about £180,000 per year and create space on “stretched coach resources to provide travel assistance to those eligible”.
One of the parents written to was Plamena Naydenova.
Her letter included directions on how her children could get to school with 30 separate steps to follow.
Among the instructions were phrases such as “take the alleyway”… “follow the footpaths through Molesey Heath Nature Reserve” and “turn right through the squeeze stile”.
Later children are told to ‘Cross the River Mole Viaduct Sluice”.
It took her 83 minutes to go door to door.
Mrs Naydenova said: “How can you call an 83 minute walk through dark heaths and unlit river paths a safe route”
“It’s just honestly outrageous, the whole thing.
“It isn’t about one child, it’s a principle.
“It will affect many families, not just my two children.
“I walked it with my sister as I was afraid to walk it on my own.
“It goes through narrow alleyways, fields, mud along the embankment of the River Mole, with no fencing.
“The bit that annoys me the most is the word safe -or safe for an accompanied child.
“That parents must accompany them. The council doesn’t see that other parents have other children to drop off or work commitments.
“I would need to leave the house at 7am to get to Esher. How would I get the other children to school, never mind my other work commitments?
“It’s very very shocking. We all know it’s about the money and cost cutting. But be honest and transparent, say ‘we can’t afford to pay anymore’ not that there’s a new safe route.”
Since the shock email parents have banded together. So far they understand about 81 other students have been impacted.
Very few are expected to take on the route and if their appeal fails, will instead use the standard bus network – although these services, she said, can often be full with school children left at stops.
Mrs Naydenova added: “It will put a lot of pressure on the existing paid buses.
“We aren’t going to let them walk across the heath, we only have one car, so the only other option is cycling but how safe is that?”
Travel assistance will run until the end of the school year. From September 2025 children will need to find alternative routes pending any change.
Surrey County Council’s cabinet member for children, families and lifelong learning, Councillor Clare Curran, said the route to Esher High School had been established following “individual safe walking route assessments” and that these had been applied in line with national guidelines.
She said: “It is important to note that the guidelines consider the relationship between pedestrians and traffic, and assessments are undertaken on the assumption that the child will be accompanied by an appropriate adult if necessary.
The Department for Education‘s own school transport guidance also supports this position. It is suggested that suitable footwear and a torch are used where needed.
“The council provides contracted coaches to those eligible for travel assistance to Esher High School.
“By limiting the services only to those eligible in line with statutory guidance, the council expect a cost saving of approximately £180k per year, as well as the benefit of utilising the stretched coach resources to provide travel assistance to those eligible.”
“The national picture is of increased demand on transport services, and therefore council budgets. We spent £64.9m in 2023/24 on home to school travel costs, for around 10.7k children and young people.
“We take our responsibilities regarding home to school transport very seriously; however, we must balance this with our duty to ensure we are only using public funds for those who meet statutory guidelines for free transport or who are most in need of assistance.
“Amidst a set of challenging financial circumstances, the council is not in the position to continue to pay for transport for families where they are no longer eligible for assistance, due to a safe route being established.”