IT issues lead to school bus travel chaos

SBC issued an apology following the IT blunder.

Scottish Borders Council has apologised and promised action after some pupils were left stranded as the result of school bus passes not being issued.

The start of the new school term descended into chaos and stress for youngsters last Wednesday, August 17, after some pupils who qualify for travel passes were not issued with them.

The council has accepted the blame for the problem and has informed its bus operators to accept eligible pupils on its transport without passes.

It appears the issue was isolated primarily to new Primary 1 and S1 pupils and was the result of “IT challenges”.

The transport breakdown even impacted on John Curry, the council’s own director of infrastructure and environment, who said: “My daughter, who started S1 last week, had an unsettling start to her day so I can certainly empathise with those families who have been impacted across the Scottish Borders.

“I apologise for any disruption and undue stress that has been caused at the start of the new school year.

“As a council we have already arranged meetings between the education and transport teams to evaluate the issues experienced to undertake a full review of the council’s processes around planning and delivery of home to school transport to avoid future challenges.”

A formal Scottish Borders Council response has also been issued.

It says: “We are aware of an ongoing problem with bus passes that have not been issued to a number of pupils on some Home to School routes.

“We are also aware that some pupils, who are eligible for travel but who have not yet received their bus passes, have been refused access to buses.

“We have contacted the parents and carers using Groupcall and are in discussions with bus operators to instruct their drivers to allow any pupils eligible for travel access to buses while the issue is being resolved.

“We take full responsibility for the issue and are working with out bus providers to resolve any problems as quickly as possible.

“We apologise for the inconvenience and concern this issue has caused pupils, parents and carers, and very much appreciate your understanding and patience at what can be a very anxious time.”