School Transport Update September 2022

School Transport update

West Lothian Council is working to resolve issues around school transport.

We are aware of ongoing issues on some school routes this term, and are looking to have resolutions in place as soon as possible.

Like many other local authorities and employers, the national shortage of trained drivers is the main factor.

However, we have made it clear to our providers that the current delays are not acceptable and we are working with them to provide a resolution.

During the summer 2022, the council's Passenger Transport Service had to re-tender all school transport contracts. During the past few months, we have successfully tendered and awarded 78 school bus contracts and in excess of 230 taxi and small vehicle contracts.

Unfortunately, the award and evaluation process took longer than anticipated, which led to a short notice being given to parents, carers and pupils.

We appreciate that changes to school transport can lead to a confusing and anxious time for pupils, parents and carers, and would like to sincerely apologise for this delay in receiving information and any inconvenience this has created.

Our Public Transport team are currently working through a number of queries caused by the changes in routes, times and providers, with priority given to pupils entitled to transport who are unable to access transport.

To enable staff to work through all the requests, anyone who still has an outstanding query is asked to log it via Passenger Transport Service form (opens new window)

We aim to respond to any queries with 48 hours, but residents are thanked for their patience while we work through an expected high volume of enquiries.