Save our School Buses

Leader of Rochdale Council Cllr. Paul Rowen has launched a petition to campaign against the Government's plans to remove free travel for children who travel more than 3 miles to school (2 miles for those under 8).

The Government's draft School Transport Bill would allow Local Education Authorities to charge all but a minority of children for their bus travel. New research by the Liberal Democrats shows that hundreds of school children in Rochdale could lose their right to free school transport if the Government has their way.

Cllr. Rowen, said "Charges for using school buses must not be levied on families in Rochdale that currently rely on the free service. That would only drive those families back into their cars and make congestion problems worse"

Cllr Pauline Maguire said, "This is environmental madness - this Government tell us on one hand they want people to use more Public Transport and with the other hand are planning to take away free transport for many of our children. I will work with my Lib Dem Colleagues in Parliament to oppose any such change"

"All children should have the right to a free education. These figures show that hundreds of thousands of children could soon be at risk of losing that right!"

Phil Willis MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary