‘Ride your bike to school - and save council £1,000s’

School Transport found that the council currently goes beyond the stated level of provision with some children who were not eligible to receive free travel. The council has since pledged “to only provide support in future in circumstances when we are statutorily obliged to do so”.

Under a statutory only policy, travel assistance would only be given if a child’s nearest appropriate school with available spaces is more than three miles away and it is the school that parents have selected for their child to attend.

The changes would not affect low income families as they receive assistance based on financial circumstances and not distance criteria.

Having monitored usage of bus passes between August 2017 and May 2018 it found that 10% were used on less than 50 occasions and 14% on less than 100 occasions (but more than 50). It said the average usage, based on two journeys a day between August and May, should be approximately 260.

As part of its implementation of the new policy the Labour-run Cabinet wants to encourage “more sustainable” ways of travelling to and from school – such as offering bikes as an alternative to issuing bus passes. Officers said: “The details of what this new pilot will encompass will be drawn up over the summer in preparation for the new term.

“Initial conversations have taken place with school leader representatives in the Honley pyramid of schools who have indicated their willingness to work with the council.

“The exploratory work should have a broad impact, including providing health benefits for children and their families, through active journeys, such as walking and cycling.” The cycling scheme would provide a bicycle, helmet and cycling safety training in lieu of a boarding card or bus/train pass.