The cost of transporting Bradford pupils from their homes to school via taxi costs almost £54,000 a day – and “shows no sign of reducing.”
A report going to Councillors on Wednesday reveals that this cost has more than doubled in the past five years as the number of eligible pupils continues to rise.
Bradford Council’s Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee will be given an update on the Authority’s Travel Assistance Service at their final meeting of 2023.
The report paints a picture of a service facing many challenges, including rising costs, an ageing workforce and an “outdated” IT system.
The Travel Assistance Service, which has an annual budget of £14.5 million, is responsible for processing applications and delivering transport for Bradford’s children and young adults, taking them from their homes to their schools and colleges.
The service currently provides assistance to over 3,000 pupils, with a third transported by buses.
But two-thirds are transported by taxis or minibuses.
Although most children are in a shared taxi with other pupils, there are “exceptional circumstances” where children are offered a taxi on their own.
The report says the Council has a duty to provide home-to-school transport to all children deemed eligible, adding: “Wherever possible, the team will look to utilise the in-house fleet of vehicles to provide journeys but the service also procures taxis and buses from an agreed provider.”
The report going to Wednesday’s meeting says that in October 2023, 1,455 children were transported by taxi through these contracted services, making up 531 separate school runs.
This costs £53,899 a day and racks up 14,100 miles a day.
In October 2019 there were 932 pupils transported by taxi, costing £22,522 a day.
Members will be told that one reason for the rising number of children eligible for travel assistance is the increasing amount of children in the District with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
The report says: “The number of EHCPs has risen steadily over the last few years and is now 50 per cent higher than five years ago.
“This has resulted in a 30% increase in taxi journeys every day. Numbers generally reach a peak in April so we anticipate that numbers will rise again significantly.”
The number of applications for home-to-school transport has “risen steadily” in recent years, and for the 2023/24 financial year is expected to reach 1,300.
Of these, 950 are expected to be approved.
Last year there were 795 applications, with 558 approved.
Members will be told of other issues facing the service. The report says: “There is an increasing problem with the recruitment of drivers.
“The TAS-owned minibuses require a D1 class entitlement. Drivers who passed their test prior to 1997 have this entitlement on their license, however, drivers who passed after this date have to undergo a further test to attain D1 class entitlement which costs around £2,000.
“The average driver age is over 50 years old.”
It adds: “The IT systems that the service uses are outdated and in danger of failure. The service is actively seeking a solution to this problem.
“The budget for the service is £14.5m.
“Until two years ago the actual costs of the service matched its budget.
“In the last two years, the taxi-related costs have increased significantly. Due to this the cost of the service has increased by £3m.
“Due to increasing demand, children who have more complex needs, the cost of fuel, personnel and general living costs, this increase shows no sign of reducing.”
Recent financial reports to the Council have described home-to-school transport as one of the big pressures facing the authority.
The Quarter 2 financial report – published last month, said: “There has also been a rise in exclusions being transported to Out of Area provisions which is more expensive.”
The Scrutiny Committee will be told the Council is aiming to reduce costs by “regularly reviewing” the number of children transported by taxi “with the aim of moving all children who can be safely transported into a shared vehicle.”
The report comes at a time when Bradford Council faces huge financial strain.
Last week the Authority revealed that unless it gets extra financial support from the Government it is likely to declare effective bankruptcy.
