School buses in Bucks may stop running due to compliance issues with accessibility regulations

Accessibility regulations for school buses due to be enforced from July this year that legally require all home to school transport to be wheelchair accessible, look set to seriously disrupt availability of places since few operators appear ready to comply.
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Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) were actually introduced 20 years ago but coach operators say there has been little or no enforcement until recently and that home to school transport providers have been given insufficient time to respond to the change and adapt their vehicles.

Tom Murphy, owner of Ashwood Travel who transport around 700 children to and from school, told The Bucks Herald: “The problem is that because this has come about so late you cannot get wheelchair accessible outlets fitted in time, and it's going to cost me somewhere in the region of £350,000 to £400,000.”

Regarding his options, Mr Murphy said: “The impact is that if in September time we're not compliant and the Government is insisting that we be compliant then we probably won't offer home to school services.”

Bucks County Council officesBucks County Council offices
Bucks County Council offices

If the current home to school transport solution in Bucks collapses, as seems possible, then one of the consequences maybe parents choosing to drive their children to school, which is a significant liability on the environment and on traffic congestion.

One of the complaints that we heard from multiple coach operators is that home to school transport should not be in scope for the new regulations for the same reason that leisure coaches are not in scope – because the operators know who they will be picking up and so can adapt accordingly. They say this does not require that every coach be updated.

Chris Coles, Head of Operations at Transport2, a transport management company which runs approximately 200 school routes each day, explained: "We're solving a problem that doesn't exist.

“The core issue is do you know who your passengers are? I think somebody didn't really understand this when they wrote it. They thought that when we're driving down the road picking up school children we don't know who we're going to meet, but all schools book they children onto the vehicles.”

Former Prime Minister and MP for Maidenhead, Theresa May, wrote to the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps on behalf of Mr Coles, outlining some of his concerns. Mr Shapps replied: “I want to be clear that this Government wants disabled people, whoever they are, and regardless of whether they are adults or children, to be able to travel like non-disabled passengers.

“Requiring them to travel segregated from other people onboard separate services is inconsistent with our aim of building an inclusive transport system and whilst I understand some of the challenges that your constituent highlights, now is the time for bus and coach companies to start sourcing solutions, instead of complaining that they need more time or a different approach.”

It should be made clear again that none of the coach operators we spoke to wanted to exclude disabled children. Some favoured the US system which requires a 10% fleet compliance rate, saying this would accommodate the demand.

We contacted Buckinghamshire Disability Service (BuDs). Their Chair of Trustees, Andrew Clark, said: “Bucks County Council are spending a fortune on taxis because for years and years they've allowed coach operators to go on running inaccessible old stock, so leaving aside the legal situation with the new regulations coming in, this is squarely down to the home to school transport team at Bucks County Council.

“They knew that the regulations were coming, they knew they were spending a fortune on taxis for disabled kids and they've nevertheless not done any real work with their contractors.”

One thing that has been said to us anecdotally by some transport operators is that the parents of disabled children that they've spoken to say they don't want their children on the school bus and would prefer that they get a taxi.

We put this to Mr Clark of BuDs. He responded: “Parents are used to taxis arriving at their door and taking children to school direct. That's not a good thing in general because it condemns disabled kids to a life of being completely different to everybody else.

“Children should be children at the end of the day and our motto is about removing barriers. One barrier is the lack of accessible transport.”

The seriousness of the situation regarding the availability of home to school transport going forward, and the apparent lack of options available, is highlighted by the statement provided to us by Bucks County Council (BCC).

A BCC spokesperson said: "The Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR) have been introduced to make all buses and coaches wheelchair accessible. They have been gradually introduced over several years leading up to 1 January 2020 when they were extended to all home to school transport coaches including routes that are not open to the public which use dedicated coaches for school transport only provided by commercial bus companies.

"Local authorities already provide fully accessible transport for pupils who need it, tailored to their individual needs, and this will not change. However, although the accessibility regulations were not aimed specifically at home to school transport, the way they are being applied means that these services will be affected if they also carry fare-paying pupils, as happens on many routes in Buckinghamshire.

"As a result of lobbying by local authorities, including Buckinghamshire County Council, exemptions have been obtained from the Department for Transport from the regulations.

“The exemption for commercially-operated school transport routes ends in July 2020, meaning that the regulations would apply when these services recommence at the beginning of the new school year in September 2020.

"Buckinghamshire County Council, alongside other local authorities nationally, are calling on central government to ensure that school transport bus services continue to be exempt from the regulations so that school buses can continue to operate as normal in September 2020.

"The Council fully supports wheelchair accessibility and ensuring high-quality accessible transport, and transport is already provided to ensure full access. The government’s regulations impose a high cost on suppliers for adapting vehicles, without any funding, which may mean that our suppliers are unable to afford the costs of provision.

"The Council is hopeful that the government will change its approach to ensure business as normal for school buses in September 2020, and we will ensure further communications to parents before the end of the summer term on transport arrangements for September."

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