FOI Request - Home to School PSVAR Compliance since July 2025
Request 101003839633
Concerning home-to-school transport services involving passengers not entitled to free transport:
1. Exempt Vehicle Usage
When was the last time a PSVAR-exempt vehicle was used on such services? Please specify provider, route(s), and date.
2. Eliminating Exempt Vehicles
What contractual measures or guidance have you implemented to ensure exempt vehicles are no longer used on these particular trips?
3. PSVAR-Compliant Fleet Share
Of the vehicles deployed on these specific non-entitled passenger services, how many (number and percentage) are fully PSVAR-compliant?
How do you ensure that companies providing home to school services have the requisite number and proportion of fully PSVAR compliant vehicles as required from 1st August 2025 depending on their fleet size?
4. Monitoring & Enforcement
How is compliance monitored? What are the consequences or remediation steps if providers fail to meet no-use or compliance obligations?
5. Related Documentation
Please forward any policy documents, guidance, risk assessments, correspondence with providers, or exemption requests related to PSVAR compliance for this category of school transport.
Response 10-09-2025
1. The Council does not provide home to school transport for any young people not entitled to school transport. In such cases, the pupil can travel on any commercial service operated by the major local bus company Stagecoach Bluebird or on any m.connect service provided by the Council. All Stagecoach buses operated locally are either low floor saloons or coaches with relevant ramp apparatus, whilst all the Council’s low floor fleet are either low floor entrance minibus or tail lift minibus.
2. Not applicable.
3. Not applicable.
4. Whilst there is no compliance application on the FOI query, the Council employs two traffic assistants/surveyors who check compliance on council run closed contracts in terms of legality, presentation, timekeeping, etc.
5. Not applicable as the Council does not provide home to school transport services for non entitled home to school transport.