A Wishaw schoolboy and his mum are backing the campaign to reinstate free school transport for high school pupils in North Lanarkshire.
Amanda Smith’s son Klayton attends Clyde Valley High, he was one of thousands in North Lanarkshire whose right to free bus travel to school and back was withdrawn.
That followed a decision by North Lanarkshire Council to increase the qualifying distance criteria from two miles to three miles, in a bid to save money.
S2 pupil Klayton now faces a walk across a secluded area of ground which has been deemed a “safe-walking route” by assessors.
The 13-year-old and his mum recorded a series of videos highlighting his arduous route to school across a muddy and water-filled pot-holed trail, and skirting around the temporary perimeter fence of a building site.
Amanda said: “He needs to walk from Dimsdale Road to Clyde Valley, through fields and there’s not a proper path. It’s just all mud and gets used for dirt bikes, quad bikes and fly-tipping.
“It’s unlit and they are building at the graveyard now and there’s big metal fence with the blocks at the bottom. So you have to go around the perimeter [fence] as there’s no alternative path. It’s just high grass and trees.
“I’ve done the walk myself in various conditions and one day I fell head-first down a ditch and was covered in muck, it’s just so unsafe.
“If he was to be attacked or fall, it’s that isolated no one is going to hear him.
“I can’t always get him from school as my wee girl attends clubs, she’s only seven and I need to be there to get her. The public buses are too full and Klayton can be standing there for an hour waiting to get on one.
“Not everyone can go and pick up their child from school. Who has the time to walk over two miles to school and then back again twice a day?”
Amanda continued: “They assessed this route in July and passed it as safe. They assessed it on volume of traffic, and obviously there’s none there apart from dirt bikes, but they don’t assess on lighting.
“The alternative would be for Klayton to walk round via Waterloo and Overtown, that’s a national speed limit road with no barriers. So you’d be sending a kid down a road where traffic is travelling at 60mph.”
Just as infuriating for Amanda is that the bus Klayton previously took to school still arrives in their street every day.
“The school bus still comes into my street from Morningside every single day and stops opposite my house but Klayton isn’t allowed on. There’s space on it and I applied for a privilege pass but the council wrote back and said there is no bus, and no space on the bus. The phone number on the letter I got back from the council is invalid, and the emails just bounce back.”
Klayton added: “It takes me at least 30 minutes to walk, sometimes longer. I’m going into school or coming home with my shoes all mud.
“When the buses are full I need to walk up to Wishaw to get on one. I’d like the council to let the bus pick up people from Dimsdale up.”
A public meeting on the matter has been called by Gillian Mackay MSP and is being held in Motherwell later this month.
A North Lanarkshire Council spokesperson said: “In November last year, the council agreed to reverse its decision regarding primary school transport and continue providing free school transport to primary pupils at a level more generous than most other local authorities in Scotland.
“We found a fair and proportionate way to ensure primary-aged children who qualify for free school transport will continue to do so.”
The spokesperson added: “Following a request by local elected members, a member/officer working group, comprising councillors and senior council staff, was established with the remit to review and update the council’s criteria for acceptable school walking routes.
“This review is still underway, and it would be practical to await the outcomes before carrying out further informal walking assessments on individual routes, unless previously agreed.
“A report outlining the review’s results, including any proposed amendments to the criteria, will be submitted to a future council meeting.
“By law, parents and carers are responsible for getting their child(ren) safely to school. The council does not arrange public bus services.”
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