Why now is perhaps a better time than any to review your school’s spending on school-to-home transport

Since councils are required to make transport arrangements for children who live beyond three miles of their school (beyond two miles if below the age of eight) and for children who “cannot reasonably be expected to walk to school” because of mobility problems or health and safety issues related to SEN, it is not surprising that school-to-home transport costs £1 billion a year.

Yet the vice president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services is calling for cuts to be made to school-to-home transport, not least because it has been estimated that councils will face a £2 billion funding gap by 2020 to support vulnerable children.

This suggests that now is perhaps a better time than any to review your school’s spending on school-to-home transport and to look for alternative transport arrangements which might prove to be more cost effective.

An increasing number of schools have, for example, found that leasing a minibus, rather than owning a minibus outright, can sometimes work out to be cheaper in the long run due to the rate at which a vehicle devalues over time and with use – so it is well worth contacting a company like Benchmark Leasing to get a quote so that you can work out the figures for yourself.

Furthermore, by leasing a minibus with Benchmark Leasing, the vehicle’s MOTs, repairs* and services are included in the arrangement and the costs are conveniently built into the lease price. And as the minibuses that Benchmark lease to schools are always brand-new, the length of time that the minibus is out of action due to repairs is significantly reduced.

To enquire about leasing a brand-new minibus with Benchmark Leasing, please do call on 01753 859944 or email us at minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk. You might also like to have a look at our website to get a feel for the type of vehicles that we regularly lease to schools.

* T&Cs apply

Source: ADCS vice president: School transport costs ‘cannot be justified’