Better public bus services could provide a long-term solution to some of the problems facing families following controversial changes to school transport in North Yorkshire, a leading politician has said.
Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, said getting more children to school on public bus services could ease pressure on both families and North Yorkshire Council.
He made the comments after parents raised concerns about the wider impact of the council’s home-to-school transport policy at Friday’s Combined Authority Cabinet meeting.
Mr Skaith agreed his officers would meet campaigners to discuss how their concerns could be addressed through future transport planning.
North Yorkshire Council has changed its policy to only provide free transport to a child’s nearest school in a bid to reduce the annual school transport bill of more than £52m.
Appleton Roebuck parent Victoria Rothwell told the meeting about the impact of the policy on her family after her twins started secondary school in September 2025.
Mrs Rothwell said Tadcaster Grammar School, their catchment school, had been the only one of the family’s three choices able to offer both children places, but they were refused free transport because another school was deemed nearer.
She said the family was now paying £1,692 a year for bus passes on the existing school service through the village.
Mrs Rothwell told the mayor:
“Our children need certainty. Rural families need fairness.
“Please help us make the damage stop.”
She specifically asked Mr Skaith to agree to his team meeting parents to hear about their experiences and discuss the findings of the council’s review of the policy.
Fellow campaigner Terence Moran told the meeting the issue went far beyond Appleton Roebuck, claiming communities from Whitby and Settle to Boroughbridge and North Richmondshire were being affected.
He warned that pupils attending schools outside North Yorkshire could take education funding with them, potentially putting further pressure on rural schools, jobs and ultimately public transport.
Mr Moran, speaking on behalf of the School Transport Action Group, said the organisation represented more than 1,200 residents.
He asked the mayor to meet campaigners to assess the impact of the policy, its financial consequences and possible ways forward.
Responding, Mr Skaith said:
“It’s ultimately a matter for North Yorkshire Council to resolve. The Combined Authority and my role as mayor are separate and independent from North Yorkshire Council.
“Ultimately, this is a council decision and only they can amend it.”
But the mayor said better public bus services could provide part of a longer-term solution.
He added:
“In the longer term, a functioning public bus service across North Yorkshire would, in many cases, help alleviate pressures on the council by allowing more children to get to school using public buses.
“To that end, I will ask my officers to meet with you both and your teams, listen to your concerns and see how we can seek to address them in our Local Transport Plan going forward.”
North Yorkshire Council changed its home-to-school transport policy so that eligibility is generally based on transport to a child’s nearest suitable school rather than their catchment school.
Campaigners argue the change particularly disadvantages families in rural communities where the nearest school can be outside their traditional catchment area or even across a local authority boundary.
Mrs Rothwell told Friday’s meeting that all 13 remaining Year 6 pupils in Appleton Roebuck had this year been assigned a nearest school outside North Yorkshire, rather than their catchment school of Tadcaster Grammar.
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