You may have heard me over the last few days winging on about the cost of sending children to School.
My three children go to the secondary school in our catchment area, but because it is under 3 miles from our house I need to pay for their bus fares. This has always felt unfair to me. The zoning arrangements in South Ayrshire council mean that they can't go to the more local school, less than a walkable mile way!.
You may say, make them walk .... 4 miles a day carrying a 5 -6KG rucksack! ...... There must be a health and safety regulation covering that! There are not many adults would do it. Cycle ... no way, it's a busy road. I would be a nervous wreck. So they go on the bus and we find the money.
I needed to get my son a new photo card this week and was alerted to the fact that, now he is 16 he is no longer entitled to a reduced fare and that he would need to pay the full adult fair. Once I'd worked my way round all the different discount and ticketing minefields ....mega riders, discount cards, weekly, monthly, daily variations, young scot cards bla bla, with and without various discount card, I'll be paying 30% more to get him to school. An extra £10 a month doesn't seem such a lot, but on top of the £60, it sent me into a frenzy.
I've calmed down a tad now and know that there is nothing I can do, everyone is suffering nationally, If South Ayrshire subsidises buses for schools they would have to cut somewhere else.
In talking to various people I realised that my problems pale into insignificance compared to someone on benefit. I had wrongly assumed that if you are on benefit your child's fares are paid. but no .... how on earth is someone on benefit with 3 children supposed to find £60 a month! a scenario definitely designed to demotivate poorer children from going to school at all! especially when they get there, they see other children booking up for the ski trip, the london trip, the Arran activity trip etc etc,
Frankly, it breaks my heart, so no more winging from me.
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