Angry parents in "chaos" blaming "shambolic situation" after Scottish Councilannounced many school bus routes were closed. did.barely.
At 8:30 pm, the night before students returned, North Lanarkshire County Council announced that many primary and secondary schools in the region would not operate a total of 43 routes. As the students were getting ready to go to bed, the Council Boss e-mailed that theStrathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) (which organizes the mainstream agreements) had a specific route. I said I couldn't get a driver.
The North Lanarkshire Council said it was only informed of the issue late Tuesday afternoon by the SPT and found it "totally unacceptable". Following this news, furious parents were outraged by the "ridiculous" timing of the announcement and scrambling to find another trip for their children at the last minute.
Near Shotts A mother from Hartwood said she would have missed the first day of fifth grade if her child hadn't been lucky enough to get a lift offer from a neighbor.
"It's a shame to be left until the night before school when you're told you don't have time to make arrangements," she told the record. We stay in a country village called Wood, which is two miles walking distance from Schott and one mile to the next nearest village, Allanton, where the bus leaves.
"We always I've relied on it.In school transport but not as much as now.My husband and I are drivers but he works 6am-6pm and I currently have surgery on my arm.
"I was very lucky that my neighbor offered to take my daughter home with my son, but I'm not so lucky." Some were not.”
The daughter of a mother in heat attends St. Aidan's School in Whishaw, about six miles from her home in Hartwood. She blamed the timing of her announcement for causing her to lose sleep over worrying about her situation.
She added: ``There are no walking paths between villages. Having to walk this road to catch a service bus would put her and other children's lives at risk.
"Last night at 8:26 pm. I got the email last minute, and it seems utterly ridiculous to be able to send an email the night before school resumes, and all the parents at North Lanarkshire Council were in a frenzy.
44} "There were no warnings at all. I couldn't even sleep last night because my mind was spinning with worry."I still don't know if the bus will come tomorrow. I haven't received an e-mail from the city council correcting me that the bus has arrived.
''We usually don't know what's going on. We are at a loss - it's a complete shambles. Never heard of such a thing. ''
North Lanarkshire Council lashed out at her SPT for not being able to arrange buses and said it was unlikely that all issues would be resolved this week.
High schools affected include Airdrie Academy, Bladehurst High, Calderhead High, Caldervale High, Clyde Valley High, Clyde Valley High, Dalziel High, Greenfalls, Kilsis Academy, Our Lady's High (Cumber both Noold and Motherwell), St Andrew's High, St Maurice's High, and St Aidans. Taylor High.
Non-root elementary schools include Condorat, Greengairs, Holy Family, Shawhead, St Andrew's, St David's, St John Paul II, St Patrick's, St Teresa's, St Thomas', and Woodlands. It is included.
Another angry mother added: There isn't even a service bus from Salsburgh to Shotts, so I don't think my child will be able to go to school.
Another mother of Shotts said, "This is totally unacceptable. I don't drive because of my epilepsy, so I can't drive my son to school. To put it mildly.
A third from Whishaw said, "It's a total disgrace. My daughter has to take two buses to school and two at the end of the day." No, just kidding.”
Additional special school taxi contractors also withdrew contracts 48 hours before schools reopened due to a “driver shortage.”
Another estrus mother from Bellshill said:
"This is after communicating with transport over the past seven weeks, saying that her old taxi driver ran into her house. I have a chance to bring them back, but they make absolutely no effort to reach out to resolve anything.I'm in charge of sorting out the council's school bus contracts.
“SPT has apologized, but the most important thing for parents and young people is getting transportation available as soon as possible. We will continue to update parents on this and via text messages, emails, and the council website.”
SPT spokesperson said: Given that short-term contracts were signed during the Covid-19 pandemic, this year saw an unprecedented amount of renewals.
"While we secured the majority of our council contracts on time and ahead of the start of the new school year, many of the bus operators were approved and awarded in the North.
"I apologize to all parents, students and schools affected. Due to short notice from the operator, we were unable to make alternative arrangements.Our school team is working diligently to find transportation for the affected students based on a temporary emergency.
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