Young people’s safety and education is being put at risk after the bus service they use to get to and from school regularly fails to turn up.
The number 18 Cambridge to St Neots service is used by students and staff travelling from Cambourne to Comberton Village College.
However, both parents and teachers have raised concerns about the service which either fails to turn up or is cancelled at short notice.
Bus operator Whippet has blamed “operational issues” for the problems, with driver shortages behind some of the cancellations.
Eleanor Jenkins, head of sixth form at Comberton, told the Cambridge Independent: “We’re moving towards winter and it’s getting colder and darker, we don’t want students to be standing waiting in the freezing cold at bus stops for hours on end.
“All we want is for the service to be the one they promised and the one they guaranteed would be a priority for them to run.
“I understand it’s a business but we want to prioritise these children’s education and being able to get them home again afterwards.”
The number 18 service is the only one available to students and staff travelling from Cambourne and Cambridge to Comberton.
Parent-of-two Dr Ruaa Amir has two children travelling to Comberton: “I’m extremely worried and concerned about my children’s safety as they are vulnerable children staying a long time waiting for the bus in the streets when school is over and nobody is around.
“On many occasions I have needed to leave work early in order to pick them up as no alternative arrangements were available.
“We are approaching winter and if this continues then kids will be left waiting in the dark or not attending school.”
The 18 route is run by Whippet Coaches Ltd, who took over the route in October last year after Stagecoach East withdrew in September. Stagecoach said the route was not viable.
The route is also subsidised by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, who agreed to continue with that support earlier this month.
A mother, whose son started at Comberton Sixth Form on September 4, said after two weeks, the service had failed to turn up on seven occasions and those that did turn up were often late.
“Comberton Village College are understanding of the situation and do not penalise users of the number 18 service for arriving late. However, the students are having a very disrupted start and end to their days and parents are having their working days disrupted in order to drive to CVC,” she said.
As working parents, the service was the only solution for the couple’s son to travel to his place of study.
“I have tracked buses arriving in Cambridge at around 2.20pm and disappearing from the app, therefore leaving many students stranded in Comberton, with no indication from Whippet that buses have been cancelled,” she said.
School staff say that some students were left waiting at bus stops for over 100 minutes earlier this term.
Nurse Sara Moelwyn-Hughes is unable to leave work to collect her daughter if the bus does not arrive.
She said: “My daughter has a 30-minute walk to the bus stop now and within the first few weeks, the bus has, at times, arrived 30-plus minutes late or not arrived at all to take pupils home.
“I work at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and I am unable as a nurse in clinics to walk out on patients and leave work early due to problems with the bus.
“What will happen in the winter when it’s cold waiting outside the school and there is no show on the bus?”
One parent’s 12-year-old son relies on the number 18 service and says the disruption has left him “extremely anxious”.
“We find the service to continue to be very unreliable and are extremely dissatisfied,” he said. “The bus continues to arrive late resulting in him arriving late at school and home. There have also been times where the bus has not shown up at all.
“I am not usually one to complain easily, however this is having a massive negative impact on us both, he has become extremely anxious and at times been getting upset and it is affecting his mental wellbeing. Due to my health situation, I also have to rely heavily on this bus service to get him to and from school.”
Many of the students travelling to Comberton attend the sixth form – and have already faced significant disruption to their education over the past few years.
The school previously funded its bus to bring students from Cambourne to Comberton but this was scrapped following the Combined Authority’s commitment to the 18 route.
The Labour mayor for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said: “We understand how frustrating delays and cancellations are for those that rely on these services and are working with Whippet’s management to find an urgent solution. Unfortunately, these problems are not unique to Whippet and are being felt by operators right across the country.
“Nevertheless, we’re determined to reform our region’s bus network, with substantially improved frequency, reliability, and affordability at its heart, and are keen to hear from residents about what they want from future services.”
The school says it will continue to press the mayor’s office and Whippet for a resolution. Whippet was approached for comment.
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