PARENTS of school age children are being asked to comment on far reaching proposed changes to the provision of pupil transport.

The North Yorkshire County Council proposals concern parents of all primary and secondary school children from four to 16 years old who use school transport.

Proposed changes include the replacement of the current door-to-door service, unless there is a special, medical or mobility need, and its replacement with more pick up points, aimed at picking up groups of children.

The council says collection points would be safe areas where children could walk to, such as existing bus stops. Convoluted, time consuming trips to housing estates involving several pick-ups, would be replaced with just one collection point, and children living on remote farms who are currently collected and dropped off at their door, could in the future be required to walk to the nearest road.

The council says larger vehicles would be commissioned to carry out the new style collections, which would be phased in gradually over the next four years.

It is also proposed to provide free transport to and from the pupil’s main home address only, to put an end to empty seats created by children with more than one pass, because they live in two places, and to charge £30 for a replacement pass, if they are lost.

It is also proposed to provide free transport for reception years children, instead of as when they reach five years old, and to introduce an application process for home to school transport. The current system assumes all eligible children will be requiring transport and services are commissioned accordingly. The new system would take into account other formal arrangements which have been made for children, such as after-school clubs or child minders.

A 12 week consultation started today (March 25), will run until June 16 and will include a drop in information session at The Rendezvous Hotel, Skipton on Thursday, April 4.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, the council’s executive member for education and skills, said: “As an authority, a lot of the home to school transport services we offer are above the statutory minimum, but we need to ensure what we offer is fair and consistent to everyone.

“We also recognise we’re a rural county without the public transport links some other areas have and recognise the difficulties this presents across North Yorkshire.

“We want to protect transport from home to school for those who need it the most and for those who are entitled to it.”

One of several county wide drop in information sessions will take place at The Rendezvous Hotel, Keighley Road, Skipton on April 4. It will run from 12midday to 2pm and from 5pm to 7pm. People can also take part in the survey online at: northyorks.gov.uk/h2stransportconsult.