Aberdeenshire Council subsidises school buses to the tune of about £14m a year … and provides a better service than recommended by the Scottish Government.

The issue was raised by a Newtonhill resident concerned about the service between the village and Portlethen Academy.

Councillor Ian Mollison took up the case and received a response from the council’s public transport unit.

“Regarding the measurement of distance to the school, this is calculated on the basis of the shortest walking route from home. It is therefore inevitable that when a line is drawn someone will be on the wrong side, from their point of view,” said Councillor Mollison.

• The cost of providing school transport across Aberdeenshire is £15.8m per annum. The Grant Aided Expenditure indicator for Aberdeenshire in respect of school transport is £3.95m. This is a vital contributor to the calculation of Aggregate External Finance (AEF) and Revenue Support Grant (RSG), it is not intended to be an indication of what an authority should be spending on a particular service, nor is it a guide to determine local authority spending. The council decides the policy to be adopted and the cost is as a result of that decision.
• The walk to school distance is measured using the council’s GIS system, which is more accurate than a car odometer.  The distance is calculated based on the shortest walking route between the pupils house and the nearest school gate, not as the crow flies.  It is expected that a responsible adult will accompany the pupil on the route if required.
• The legislation set out by the government requires councils to make provision to assist pupils to get to school based on the pupil’s age, with the distances set as 2 miles for those under 8 years of age and 3 miles for those over.  Aberdeenshire Council is more generous in its provision of school transport and provides assistance to pupils of primary age who live over 2 miles from the school and those of secondary age over 3 miles from the school.  

For pupils who reside less than the relevant distance from their zoned school Aberdeenshire Council provide the option of a Privilege pass.   This allows parents/guardians to purchase a pass for their child to travel on the school bus at £94 in the case of primary pupils and £149 for secondary pupils in 2012/13 with discounts available to those in receipt of free school meals or where 3 or more children in the same family attend the same school.  

These rates are much lower than the cost to the council of providing a seat on a school bus, at an average of £1065 per annum, and provide an alternative safe route to school for pupils living under the relevant mile walk distances from their school.