Full News Report

27th September 2023

County pledge to resolve school bus issues

PROBLEMS with school bus routes affecting Morval Parish are on the verge of being resolved following the swift intervention of Cornwall County Councillor Armand Toms – but it has since emerged that similar ‘overcrowding’ problems have been reported in other areas of Cornwall as the county council appears to have been found wanting at the start of the new school year.

It was concerned parent Tracey Barnett Viney who first raised the safety issue with Morval Parish Council and the parish’s Independent county councillor Armand Toms. 

While the parish council had no jurisdiction in school transport matters, the chairman, Cllr Andy Jackson, pledged their full support for both parents and Cllr Toms in efforts to get the matter resolved.

Happily, it seems that the buses from Widegates to the Looe Academy School at Sunrising will soon be operating safely once more.

The county council’s Integrated Network and Partnerships Manager Gemma Hall has acknowledged the ‘challenges around capacity’ on their buses. 

Ms Hall told Tracey: “As of half-term, children will be allocated to a specific bus only. Currently any child with a bus pass can access any ‘Go Travel bus’.”

That, apparently, had resulted in many children using the same bus but the County Council is now hoping that by allocating a specific bus to a child, it will resolve any issues. 

It has since emerged that similar problems have occurred elsewhere in Cornwall. Parents claimed that the overloaded school bus from Lostwithiel to Fowey Academy also risked their children’s safety.

A council spokesperson said, of the Lostwithiel complaints, that there were sometimes ‘unavoidable issues’ at the start of a new term, but added that the council had acted to resolve the matter.