A petition to halt North Lanarkshire Council’s plan to alter bus travel to school arrangements has already gathered more than 7000 signatures.
The move comes after the council launched a controversial consultation exercise on their bid to change the criteria for free bus travel from one to two miles for primary children and two to three miles for secondary pupils.
The council claim the change will save them £2.4 million.
If implemented, the change would affect three-quarters of primary pupils currently in receipt of free transport and almost half of their high school counterparts.
The petition organisers claim that the move will put children walking to and from school at increased risk.
Martin O’Brien, from Wishawhill, whose grandson Jayden, eight, attends St Thomas’s Primary in Caledonian Road, Wishaw,
is urging concerned parents and members of the public to add their names to the online petition.
He said: “I would ask everyone to sign up so we can keep up pressure on the council and, hopefully, get them to come to their senses as to how unsafe this move will be.
“They need to be made aware that people are deeply unhappy about this ridiculous scheme.”
Martin says that he and other activists are planning to protest outside where the consultation meetings will be held.
The Clyde Valley meeting was held on Wednesday and Our Lady’s is on Friday, December 1, from 7pm to 9pm.
Martin added: “We are also going to start a paper petition and put it in all the local locations so people can sign up to that without needing to go online.”
Organisers of the online petition say that long distances, poor lighting and unsafe routes make it dangerous for their children.
One mum said: “We as a community have to stand up against these cuts and the proposed changes as they will affect families across North Lanarkshire.
“Primary and secondary children are the most vulnerable in our community and we have a duty to protect them.
“These cuts will be detrimental to many areas of their lives, such as health, well-being and education.”
The article originally appeared on Daily Record
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