The high expense, unreliability and overcrowding of home-school transport B&NES is adding severely to congestion and pollution locally. NOW’S THE TIME TO TAKE ACTION!

When:                        
Monday 28 January at 4.45pm.

Where:           
In front of the main entrance of the Guildhall, Bath.

How:              
Come and be part of a peaceful demonstration before the meeting of the Council’s Children & Young People’s O&S Panel (which is discussing the issue of home-school transport that evening at 5.30pm).

Who:              
You – that’s anyone who cares about the environment in this area.

Why:  
The Campaign for better home-school transport in B&NES made presentations at the November Council Meeting. The meeting went well, making a firm case for the need for change. Our concern about the impact of the current problems on the environment was a core part of our argument, as many parents admitted that they drive their children to school currently because of the problems of expense, unreliability and overcrowding.

Council decided to look into the issue further and the Children & Young People’s Overview & Scrutiny Panel (a sort of local council select committee) was given the job of doing this. They’re discussing home-school transport at their meeting on 28 January at 5.30pm and we want them to see how many people care about this issue.

We have been particularly interested to hear about initiatives introduced in other areas, including York and Kent, with a view to achieving sustainable home-school transport, tackling congestion and pollution by encouraging increased use of public transport for home-school journeys. In Kent, for example, parents can now pay £50 per year, enabling their secondary school children to use local buses at all times. Pilot schemes in 2 areas of Kent, including Tunbridge Wells, have shown such a significantly positive impact on congestion that the Council is now determined to introduce the scheme county-wide. We believe that this sort of scheme would be ideal for B&NES in addressing its own challenges and responsibilities to young people and the environment.

What if I can’t be there - is there anything else I can do?

1. If you haven’t already done so, please sign our online petition. If you’ve already signed, please encourage all your family and friends to support the campaign. We want to get more than 1000 signatures if we possibly can (we have 811 on- and offline already) by the time of the meeting. The petition is online at:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/better-home-school-transport-in-bath-n-e-somerset

2. If you’d like to stay informed about the campaign, join our Facebook group: Yellow School Bus for Bath. Email us at bathschoolbus@googlemail.com if you’d like an invitation to join Facebook.

Thanks for your support!

Susie Wright & Sarah Exton
Campaign for better home-school transport in B&NES.