Eye’s Hartismere School bus service through Syleham, Stradbroke, Horham and Denham is restored thanks to Wingfield bus operator
Parents who were left fretting over getting their children to school are breathing a sigh of relief after a bus operator agreed to run a replacement service.
The decision was taken after the 319 and 310 services were cancelled, leaving some pupils from Hartismere School in Eye, stranded.
With the start of the new school year now just days away, Jeff Morss, owner of Fareline Bus & Coach Services has stepped in, after parents got in touch.
“I had a big response and no end of phone calls from parents,” said Mr Morss.
“Some were existing pupils and some were the parents of children who were starting in September and I hope there are enough to make it viable.
“But even if it isn’t quite profitable to run, it still really helps the parents and kids in a time when it didn’t look like any other alternatives could be ready for the start of term.
“The response has been great and the parents are really pleased. It takes some of that worry and stress off them, so I’m happy to give it a go.”
The bus route will be open to all who wish to use it, and will be free for the first few days it is in service from September 5, as it still needs to be approved by the traffic commissioner before fares can be charged.
“The service will be in place for the start of term and the hope is that it will be in place long-term, although it will probably be a case of running it until Christmas first and then seeing how it’s going,” added the Wingfield-based operator.
The problems facing some school children arose from the fact that they live outside of the catchment area for Hartismere, meaning that the council are not obligated to provide a bus service for them.
Although there is still a 318 service, which is available for eligible children, the 310 and 319 services are no longer financially supported by council contracts, leaving bus operators with little choice but to discontiue them due to low numbers of paying passengers.
The 319 and 310 bus services being scrapped, mainly affected children in Syleham, Wingfield, Stradbroke, Denham, Wortham and Palgrave.
Many of those children will now have a bus serving their village, with the new service set to run from Syleham to Hartismere School, via Stradbroke, Horham and Denham.
Suffolk County Council is considering the restoration of the 482 service between Framlingham and Diss, which would alleviate some of the issues for those children in villages east of Eye.
However, this was one of several options which were still only in the discussion phase and could not be implemented in time for the start of term.
Speaking after a decision not to renew the bus contracts this summer, a council spokesman said: “The operator of the 319 route took a decision to deregister the service as it was not receiving enough patronage from fare-paying pupils to make it commercially viable.
“We understand that it is frustrating for families when there are changes to bus services. Pupils are entitled to school transport to their nearest suitable school, and we have been able to move eligible pupils onto the 318 service.”
