Parents criticise 'inaccurate' school bus map system

A council has refused to publish maps used to determine children's eligibility for free school transport, campaigners have claimed.

Members of the School Transport Action Group (STAG) said it was "no coincidence" access to the maps had been restricted by North Yorkshire Council after group members highlighted what they said were errors in the system.

The mapping system is used to determine the distance from a child's home to their surrounding schools, with a new policy only providing free transport to their nearest.

STAG said its members had found inaccuracies, but the council said its system was updated on an annual basis and used methodology "aligned to Department for Education guidance".

The policy change on home-to-school transport was recently introduced to reduce North Yorkshire Council's annual school transport bill of more than £52m.

STAG was formed in response to the new system being brought in, which saw children starting secondary school in September only eligible for free transport to their closest site instead of any in a historic catchment area.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the campaign group said it had carried out tests using maps previously issued by the council to 24 schools,

It claimed none of the proposed walking routes to schools ended at a valid gate as required, instead leading to other points within school grounds.

The tests also found that suggested routes often started from neighbouring properties and streets, instead of a child's home address, and often crossed private property, rivers and even Ministry of Defence firing ranges.

STAG said even small mapping errors could "completely change whether a family qualifies for free transport to their first-choice school".

A spokesperson for the group said: "This matters because in many cases the difference between a child's first, second and third nearest school is marginal.

"We're talking about distances measured in feet, not miles.

"If our findings are confirmed, it means every single distance measurement made since the policy came into force last September would be wrong, and there are families out there who have been unjustly denied school transport."

According to campaigners, parents currently applying for school admission in September 2026 were being told they could only see the names and distances of their nearest seven schools.

Supporting route maps or evidence is only made available to families who have been denied free school transport and choose to appeal.

STAG has written to senior council officers and councillors seeking an explanation.

"It's time this council was made to own up to its mistakes rather than trying to stonewall parents and hide behind a wall of secrecy," a spokesperson said.

One parent, who asked not to be named, told the LDRS: "It's impossible to make informed choices when we're left in the dark.

"We're being asked to trust data that we know the council has a habit of getting wrong."

Responding, Amanda Fielding, North Yorkshire Council's assistant director for inclusion, said the authority had a "duty" to provide free transport to eligible children in a "safe, efficient and cost-effective way".

"When measuring distances from home to school, the distance is calculated from each home address to the nearest entrance gate identified within our mapping system following the nearest available walked route. This can include footpaths, bridleways and public rights of way," she explained.

"It is important to note that eligibility for travel is only decided after a pupil is offered a place in a school."

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