A financial package will help protect school transport in the face of soaring fuel costs, Staffordshire County Council chiefs have said.
An additional £1.89million one-off investment and new contracts have been agreed with operators to reflect the higher costs they are facing.
It came after 47 school travel contracts were handed back over the past four months because of increasing costs and driver shortages.
The county council spends more than £18million a year on transporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and also commissions services for 970 routes for pupils entitled to free home-to-school travel.
Cllr Jonathan Price, cabinet member for education, said he hoped the additional funding would prevent operators from handing back contracts because they are no longer viable.
“Fuel costs have been increasing for some time but the war in Ukraine, plus inflation, has seen a sharp rise in overheads for operators.
“Increasingly we are seeing contracts being handed back and that leaves the council searching for new providers to take over a contract at short notice in a market with limited capacity.
“If we can support existing providers, they can continue maintaining services that ensure pupils get to school and we keep costs down in the long run.”
Cllr Jonathan Price, Staffordshire County Council
The new contracts will also see the price reduce if the cost of fuel falls in the future.
“Every day of term in Staffordshire we move 8,000 children entitled to free home-to-school transport.
“It’s a huge operation involving hundreds of vehicles and drivers, as well as the support staff who accompany SEND children.
“The council doesn’t run its own fleet of vehicles so relies entirely on the private sector. If we don’t act action now to recognise the changing situation, there is a real danger that we will be left unable to fulfil our legal obligation to transport entitled children to school.”
Cllr Jonathan Price, Staffordshire County Council
