School bus ticket system 'a lottery for families', says West Cork councillor  

Councillors in West Cork have called for a complete overhaul of the school bus system after hearing families are still left without seats — sometimes until days before term starts.

Members of Cork County Council’s Western Division are to write to the Government seeking universal school transport and the funding needed to deliver it. 

The motion was tabled by Social Democrats councillor Ann Bambury and seconded by Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre Kelly.

Ms Bambury said the current concessionary-ticket system was a lottery for families. 

“A child’s access to school transport should not depend on whether there is one of 30 seats available,” she said. 

Ms Bambury said many children lived on rural roads without footpaths or safe walking routes, while parents faced a scramble to get children to school if a ticket was refused.

Essential public service

“School transport has to be treated as an essential public service, not a limited concession."

Ms Kelly said parents applied for seats in spring but could be left waiting until a week or two before school reopened for an answer.

Independent Ireland councillor Danny Collins said he knew of a family in Caheragh whose child had secured a place on the bus for the previous five years, but did not get one this year. He said the same problems returned every year, leaving parents struggling to make alternative arrangements.

Councillor Daniel Sexton, also Independent Ireland, said families were being refused places despite empty seats being available on buses. He said the system needed “a complete overhaul”.

Fine Gael councillor John Michael Foley also supported the motion, though he said the problem was not simple. He said some children attended schools other than the nearest to their homes and transport requirements changed every year.

The motion calls for universal access to school transport for every child in Cork and across the country.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.