Cash victory for parents in Wirral school buses row; pounds 400 saving as Merseytravel moves in.Byline: BY LIAM MURPHY Mur·phy , William Parry 1892-1987. American physician. He shared a 1934 Nobel Prize for discovering that a diet of liver relieves anemia. Daily Post Staff A LONG-RUNNING battle over the high price of bus journeys to two grammar schools in west Wirral has been resolved - slashing the cost for parents by around pounds 400 a year. Serving West Kirby and Calday Grange Grammar schools, the Wirral "F" buses were, up until this school year, the only block of school buses in the county provided by a local education authority. After the council cut the pounds 60,000 subsidy last year, parents were faced with a price hike from around pounds 300 to closer to pounds 500 a year. However, following high-level negotiations between Chairman of Mersey travel Cllr Mark Dowd and Wirral Council leader Cllr Steve Foulkes, the provision will now be taken over and subsidised permanently by Mersey travel from September. The deal will mean that children using the F Buses will only pay 50p per trip (or use a Solo travelcard), instead of some pounds 500 a year. Cllr Mark Dowd, chairman of Mersey travel, said: "It is important we bring these buses into our countywide school bus network and create a level playing field See net neutrality. across the region. "School children using the F Series of buses should be paying the same as every other Wirral pupil using their tickets on other bus services that we subsidise. "There is a lack of commercial bus routes for children from these two schools, so it is important that something was done to support them as best we can." As yet, Mersey travel is currently awaiting tender bids from operators to run the F bus services. Cllr Foulkes said: "This is what we hoped for and have worked for since the initial Cabinet decision to tackle the anomaly of council-subsidised buses which were costing the Council Tax payer considerable sums of money, as well as the parents of the children who used them. "We now have an agreement with Mersey travel which means that the buses will be subsidised by them in the same way other school transport is subsidised. "This is the outcome of lengthy negotiations and we are grateful to Mersey travel for agreeing to take this on and create a much fairer position for all concerned. "We are also grateful to Stephen Hesford Stephen Hesford (born May 27, 1957) is a British politician and the Labour Member of Parliament for Wirral West. Stephen Hesford was born in Lowton St Mary's, near Leigh, Lancashire and was educated at the Urmston Grammar School and the University of Bradford where he was , MP for West Wirral, for the support he has given us on this issue." Esther McVey Esther McVey (b. 24 October 1967, Liverpool, England, UK) British is a Law Graduate, businesswoman, and a Conservative Parliamentary candidate who began her working career in the restaurant sector before embarking on a fifteen year career the media. a governor of Calday Grange Grammar School Calday Grange Grammar School (abbreviated to CGGS; also known as Calday,Calday Grange) is a grammar school, founded in 1636 which is situated on Caldy Hill above the town of West Kirby on the Wirral. It is one of the oldest schools on Wirral. and Conservative prospective candidate for Wirral West, also welcomed the agreement. She said: "Finally common sense has prevailed and parent power has been acknowledged." liammurphy@dailypost.co.uk CAPTION(S): Parents of pupils at Calday Grange and West Kirby grammar schools on a previous 'Go Slow' demonstration over the buses situation; Cllr Steve Foulkes |
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