Bus Eireann practically deciding where you send your child???

IrishEyes19

Not major news. But did anyone get the letter's from Bus Eireann regarding whether school children are elegible to travel on school buses.
the letter basically states that for any new school starters you must not be within certain distance (I forget the number) to the nearest school or else you will have to attend that school rather than the one you would prefer.

Is this the end of the small country schools as a lot of them including the one I attended relied on kids from other towns ect going to them. Only exception is apparently if you have a sibling who attends the school already. But no new starters have exception to this.
You could of course argue that no one is forcing you to avail of bus travel, but the case often is that both parents may be working and school transport is the only option.

I've added a poll here just to see what people think.

Washington Irving

No

I don't see what they've done wrong, makes sense imo

amacachi

It's subsidised enough as it is.

AnonoBoy

As always I agree with everything they do. I especially admire their No Flatulence rules.

Guill

No

Its called a catchment area.

IrishEyes19

Don't care either way

fair enough. It just spells out the death of the country schools for me. As I said, the majority of their intake is often from outside students as it was in my old school and a few others I know. Just seems unfair in that regard, the current system worked well and did well for bringing in a lot of students from my hometown to the school I went too, if this rules applies, the school will lose a lot of pupils.

AboutTwoFiddy

Bus ****....am I rite?

Eglinton

No

IrishEyes19 wrote: »

Not major news. But did anyone get the letter's from Bus Eireann regarding whether school children are elegible to travel on school buses.
the letter basically states that for any new school starters you must not be within certain distance (I forget the number) to the nearest school or else you will have to attend that school rather than the one you would prefer.

Is this the end of the small country schools as a lot of them including the one I attended relied on kids from other towns ect going to them. Only exception is apparently if you have a sibling who attends the school already. But no new starters have exception to this.
You could of course argue that no one is forcing you to avail of bus travel, but the case often is that both parents may be working and school transport is the only option.

I've added a poll here just to see what people think.

OP this has always been the case. The letter was only a reminder of the rules. Why should the State provide transport to farflung schools if they've already provided a perfectly adequate school beside you. If you want your children to go to a different school then drive yourself or organise a private bus with other parents.

Aodan83

No

IrishEyes19 wrote: »

The letter basically states that for any new school starters you must not be within certain distance (I forget the number) to the nearest school or else you will have to attend that school rather than the one you would prefer.

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying here. It reads like you're saying that you don't want to have to get the bus to the nearest school, you want to get the bus to one that's further away but in your view a better school.
I don't see the problem though. They're basically saying "We'll take you to the nearest school, but if you want to go to another school you have to make you're own arrangements". It makes sense, it costs money to run a bus service, if they have to go out of their way to pick up one or two children it costs them more than they make from the journey.
It's not a nice way to look at it, and a lot of parents will probably have a problem with it, but it's how Bus Éireann have to look at these things!

Coriolanus

So hire a private bus. There were about 200 students from Wicklow in my school in kildare. They came on coaches that were private hire.

IrishEyes19

Don't care either way

Aodan83 wrote: »

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying here. It reads like you're saying that you don't want to have to get the bus to the nearest school, you want to get the bus to one that's further away but in your view a better school.
I don't see the problem though. They're basically saying "We'll take you to the nearest school, but if you want to go to another school you have to make you're own arrangements". It makes sense, it costs money to run a bus service, if they have to go out of their way to pick up one or two children it costs them more than they make from the journey.
It's not a nice way to look at it, and a lot of parents will probably have a problem with it, but it's how Bus Éireann have to look at these things!

I'm not complaining at all. If these rules have already been issued ages ago, then they are obviously not being followed. my school is well out of the catchment area. Anyway I was just looking at what other people thought about it. I'm not losing sleep over it or anything

and they wouldnt be going out of their way to pick up 1 or two children. 30 and plus kids travel to that school from the one area, its a small school of 180 pupils thereabouts and the pickup point is the same every morning, there is no diverting off track for anyone. but as I said, just looking for general thoughts

Dyr

First World culchie problems

Guill

No

If there is 30 students why don't the parent organise there own bus? Ring a local company?

phasers

My school bus was privately sourced by parents, why cant you organise something similar?

IrishEyes19

Don't care either way

phasers wrote: »

My school bus was privately sourced by parents, why cant you organise something similar?

again, not an issue for me, as one poster said, this rule has been in effect for some time, its only now the letters have been issued apparently, so obviously it hasnt been implemented with regards to my siblings school. Im just looking to see what others think, as I said.

brokenhinge

This is nothing new, was the case when I went- almost ten years ago now..

You've the right to a free education-not any education you choose.

Run_to_da_hills

Communication & Transport forum

---

> That way.

Buffman

No

Good to see BE doing this.

Here's the solution if it's that important to anyone. Move house into the catchment area of the school you want the kids to go to.

May sound crazy, but done a lot in the UK.

Capt'n Midnight

IIRC back in the 1980's the bus was free if you lived more than 3 miles from the nearest school, other wise you had to pay to use the bus.

Has anything changed ?

Skid

No

IrishEyes19 wrote: »

Is this the end of the small country schools as a lot of them including the one I attended relied on kids from other towns ect going to them.

No reason for the Government to be paying for buses to send kids from towns to rural schools.

Those small schools need to be looked at - some of them have had their day and should be closed. Target the resources where the people actually live.

yes, this is exactly the same as bus eireann deciding where you send your child

GetWithIt

No

De tuk ur burs.

wendell borton

No

When i was going to NS the bus was free because the local school was closed down, don't know if this still happens.

mikemac1

No

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

IIRC back in the 1980's the bus was free if you lived more than 3 miles from the nearest school, other wise you had to pay to use the bus.

Has anything changed ?

During the eighties it wasn't free, parents bought a ticket every term. It was cheap enough as it's subsidized but the rural school buses were not free

hondasam

IrishEyes19 wrote: »

Not major news. But did anyone get the letter's from Bus Eireann regarding whether school children are elegible to travel on school buses.
the letter basically states that for any new school starters you must not be within certain distance (I forget the number) to the nearest school or else you will have to attend that school rather than the one you would prefer.

Is this the end of the small country schools as a lot of them including the one I attended relied on kids from other towns ect going to them. Only exception is apparently if you have a sibling who attends the school already. But no new starters have exception to this.
You could of course argue that no one is forcing you to avail of bus travel, but the case often is that both parents may be working and school transport is the only option.

I've added a poll here just to see what people think.

This was always the case. Kids from the town do not go to the schools in the country, they have schools in the town.

Beagslife

It was only free in the eighties to medical card holders. I clearly remember parents struggling to pay for their 6 children while their friends got it free.

AngryBollix

We used to cycle.

Tell little Johnny to man up

boodles

Good old bus eireann increasee their EUR150 fee to EUR300 per child for our local "free" transport to NEAREST secondary school for the last 2 academic years. Nice bunch:-)

Where To

No

We had to walk fifteen miles to school barefoot carrying half a ton of coal to heat the teacher's arse.

R.D. aka MR.D

No

My local school is a rural school and is over-run with kids from the local town because it is considered a great school. Parents who are from the catchment area had to be put on waiting lists because so many people wanted to go to this particular school.

In my opinion that is unfair so if it stops that kind of carry on then it can only be a good thing.

There is no need for the government to be paying for those children to get to a school that is miles away when there is a school within walking distance that their parents have decided isn't good enough for them.

hondasam

R.D. aka MR.D wrote: »

My local school is a rural school and is over-run with kids from the local town because it is considered a great school. Parents who are from the catchment area had to be put on waiting lists because so many people wanted to go to this particular school.

In my opinion that is unfair so if it stops that kind of carry on then it can only be a good thing.

There is no need for the government to be paying for those children to get to a school that is miles away when there is a school within walking distance that their parents have decided isn't good enough for them.

I thought children in the catchment area had to be accommodated first, this was always the way afaik.

mikemac1

No

hondasam wrote: »

I thought children in the catchment area had to be accommodated first, this was always the way afaik.

Every school must have a policy and they will give a copy if you ask

But it's up to them how they rank applicants

Could be the parish, brothers and sisters already enrolled, religion, parents were past students, any of these realy and in any order

Just because you are from the area does not get you in.
It usually will but not always

galwayrush

Don't care either way

We got our kids into a top school, outside our catchment area. We wanted to give them the best chance of a good education and the school in our catchment area is always at least 150 places behind where our kids go in the school league tables.

kincsem

No

Children might go to the nearest school instead of the school their parents learned about at a dinner party. Next children will be walking or cycling to school. :eek: Too much austerity. We can nay take it.

humbert

Presume you can pay to get the bus to any school? I walked 40 mins plus each way all year round and then cycled when I was older. I'm a bit amazed the bus is free. Why should it be free at all?

Anything less than 10/15Km and they should be on their bikes and if you live farther than that from a school you probably don't have much need for reading and writing and all that lark.

mconigol

You can always arrange your own unsubsidised transport.