The problem, as always at this time of year, is passenger numbers. We carry many students to school who, because of their parents choice of schools, are not entitled to a bus pass or dedicated school transport. There is no way of knowing how many new students will travel, how many will change from one form of transport to another or which route(s) will begin to burst at the seems!
Early indications showed that Cirencester Deer Park School would be up and Thomas Keble School would be down. If this became reality, then a simple switch of resources and problem solved. Every year, no matter where I have worked, I find that it can never be that simple!
Cirencester Deer Park School's numbers travelling were up! so that's one point to me! However Thomas Keble Schools numbers were static with the exception of route 5 which shot up by about a third! The terrain this service negotiates means that it has been difficult to find a bus small enough to go round the route but big enough to carry the required number of passengers! I believe I have found one and so should be able to sort that one out by half term. I am hoping to go and pick it up on Monday!
So that is one of the many issues that have stopped me from attending to the important business of updating the blog. Look out for more posts that I intend to publish over the next week or so including the following subjects:
- our new pet duck
- fleet changes
- more school route tales of woe
- two new drivers
- fuel duty rebate
- the night bus
- fuel
- Stroud Town Centre
- return of the squirrel
and I am sure many more!
2 comments:
Your comment "because of their parents choice of schools, are not entitled to a bus pass or dedicated school transport"
Some of us parents have moved into the area, so therefore I donot feel it unreasonable to keep children in the same school in the Gloucestershire area!Would you move them? I have placed my children on the local school waiting list.....2 years ago...they have to go to school.
If you feel so strongly about this issue why are you in this industry?
After all......these students are paying....keeping you in buisness and are the future users of services like yours.
Please don't misunderstand my comments!
I simply state the facts and make no comment on any rights or wrongs of the situation! Under no circumstances do I suggest that there is anything wrong with parental choice and in fact from the business perspective I fully support it! It can of course be a problem sorting out the capacity to provide the required services and this is the view I take in the blog post.
I hope that if you read the blog post again, you will see it in the intended context.
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