Angry parents have warned that proposals to cut the number of school buses will put children in danger and lead to more cars on the road around schools.
More than 1000 pupils will lose their entitlement to a free bus pass if changes go ahead as planned in August as Falkirk Council bids to save around £1 million a year by slashing its subsidy for school transport.
But parents say it is not being made clear enough that hundreds more pupils will be affected as the changes mean that 33 school buses could be axed altogether.
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The new rules would mean only primary pupils who live more than two miles from school and secondary pupils who live more than three miles from school will now be eligible.
And that means an estimated 600 pupils who currently pay or use their travel pass for under-22s could no longer have a service to use.
On Tuesday, parents attending a consultation meeting to hear more about the changes were clearly unimpressed as they accused Falkirk Council of putting financial savings before safety.
The meeting, held in Denny High School, was the fourth to have been held and education bosses have been left in no doubt about the anger parents' feel at the plans.
Many have said they feared that attendance - and therefore attainment - would fall as many children would struggle to get to school on time every day.
One parent received applause when they said: "Our pupils have lost so much time to Covid and then more to teachers' strikes - and now this is another thing that is likely to reduce attendance."
Council officers told the meeting that the local authority is facing a budget gap of £67 million over the next four years, which means it can no longer afford to provide services that go beyond statutory requirements.
They also say that the entitlement they are proposing is still more generous than the statutory guidelines and is the same or better than is currently offered by 24 Scottish councils.
But there was a ripple of disbelieving laughter when the meeting was told that routes to school are assessed as being safe on the basis that pupils will be accompanied by an adult.
There was concern about children in High Bonnybridge who will have to walk to Bonnybridge toll to get a bus. There are also worries that the current public bus service is so poor that pupils will be left stranded.
Other parents raised safety fears about the narrow pavement on the Drove Loan, claiming it will be even worse when lots more pupils start to use it.
While Denny High has the largest number of pupils affected - with 266 pupils set to lose their entitlement - parents across the authority are speaking out about their concerns.
Parents in Polmont, with children at Graeme High, are particularly concerned about the route that will take their children past the junction at Grandsable Road, which is a blackspot for accidents.
Mum Lindsey Taylor, who lives in Maddiston, said the proposals are causing huge concern for people in the village which has seen massive housebuilding over the past few years.
She attended similar meetings that were held in Braes High and Grangemouth High and she says it is also not being made clear enough just how big the impact will be on all school transport.
Currently two double decker buses travel from Maddiston every day and there are no public buses that can replace them.
Lindsey said: "There are a lot of children who live in the two to three-mile range who are going to lose the school bus and there is no alternate, reliable public bus they can get.
"It's going to leave literally a few hundred kids from Maddiston faced with 'how are we going to get to school?' and that includes kids who live in some of the more deprived areas."
"You just wonder, are they going to have the right footwear for walking six miles every day?"
Lindsey, who has two children, is also worried about how safe the 2.3 mile walk to Braes High will be for children with additional support needs who don't qualify for a taxi.
Having spoken to many other parents, Lindsey says they are also concerned about the state of the footpaths on the route to the school.
"The main road is busy and the footpaths are narrow, with quite a few broken footpaths and lots of areas that flood. Vehicles fly round there and splash pedestrians with water."
She has no doubt that the result of the proposals will be more cars on the roads as parents drop their children off.
She said: "I probably am in the position where I could take them every day but I don't think that's good for the climate or for congestion at the school."
Parents across the district say that the proposal unfairly impacts on pupils who live in more outlying areas, although the council stresses that pupils in very rural parts of the district will not lose their entitlement.
Gary Greenhorn, Falkirk Council's head of planning and resources, told the Denny meeting that it is vital that people fill in the consultation and highlight any concerns about routes they may have.
The final decision will be taken by councillors, several of whom have been attending the meetings, including Tuesday's.
The consultation, which closes on March 17, has already had more than 3000 responses and the officers say they will all be used to create a report that will go to councillors .
