ePetition details

Fair Bus Fares for Children of Preston

We, the undersigned, petition the county council to as we the parents, families and local councillors would like LCC, Preston Bus & Stagecoach to reconsider the pricing of school buses for the children of Lancashire to a fairer price for all. Following a rejected political proposal of £1 per day families have said a figure of a maximum £8.50-£10 per week is manageable.

A child's education is the most important thing in life and shouldn't be jeopardised by the price of a bus and the ability to get to school safely. 64% of families have used food banks in the last year so a 40% rise is bus fares from local bus firms is unacceptable, please support the future of this country your children and sign our petition thankyou #EveryChildMatters

This ePetition ran from 31/08/2023 to 12/12/2023 and has now finished.

831 people signed this ePetition.

Council response

Bus companies operate as commercial organisations. As such, the county council does not control where they run or what they charge their customers.

Lancashire County Council provides school bus services for students who are entitled to transport assistance as set out in the county council's "Home to Mainstream School Transport Policy". On dedicated school services provided by the county council, single fare journeys up to 3 miles are charged at £1.70. Additionally, where space is available, we offer discounted annual season tickets which offer an extra 20% discount on the cost of a daily return fare.

Although we are not obliged to make any transport provision for those students that are not entitled to free home to school transport, where a Lancashire County Council school bus service does exist and there is room, season tickets may be purchased, or a daily fare paid. Lancashire County Council's fare and season ticket structure increases in line with the county council's budgetary pricing measures reflecting current RPI/CPI figures. School bus services are expensive to procure and in most cases the cost of the service is not covered by the fares charged.

The Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport sympathises with families responding to fare increases, but wants to assure residents that the county council is doing everything within its power to keep school transport costs affordable for families across Lancashire.