A north-east London school stopped giving out detentions to late pupils using public transport after realising changes to bus frequencies were impacting how quickly they could get to class.
Students at Woodbridge High School in Woodford Green have complained they were being unfairly punished for lateness due to the buses they take not being reliable.
Last year, Transport for London (TfL) reduced the frequency of the W14 from three buses an hour to one an hour, while the W12 had a route change, now diverting away from Walthamstow village.
Deputy headteacher Jeremy Clifton has now taken action by writing an open letter seen by TfL telling of how the changes to bus frequencies have negatively impacted his students, the London Standard reports.
He said that “buses are frequently delayed and not running to the published times” and that “late buses mean that we have 30–50 students waiting for long periods at stops”.
Mr Clifton said the buses arrived at the end of the school day too full to pick up more passengers.
“I’ve witnessed buses just driving straight past, not stopping to pick up kids, literally one behind the other at some times,” Mr Clifton told the publication.
He added in the open letter obtained by the Standard that the long wait times mean students end up walking home or battling to get onto the bus, “raising safety concerns as students panic and push to get on the bus, not wanting to be left behind”.
Mr Clifton explains he along with other teachers will often help students board the bus at the end of the day, trying to encourage more students to move down the vehicle, which some avoid out of worry they will miss their stop.
He also flags that this is particularly concerning during the dark winter months, when “personal safety can be compromised” by not being able to use the bus.
The services affect students both leaving and arriving at school. The letter also states that the detentions for being late “impacts our relationship with students as they complain about the bus service and say that we are not being fair by punishing them.”
The 2,000-student school now no longer gives out detentions for lateness due to public transport as this has been judged as no longer in the student’s control, the news outlet reports.
Mr Clifton added that elderly and disabled people have also been affected: “Without a good bus service, you become detached from your community.”
Mr Clifton has called upon TfL to create a dedicated end-of-school service for students and wrote in the letter: “I strongly urge TfL to reconsider introducing the new buses and to restore the W12 and W14 routes to the previous arrangement, or, at the very least, design a more effective route for each service.”
Geoff Hobbs, TfL’s director of public transport service planning, told The Independent: “In September, we made changes to the local bus network that increase service by 10 per cent and took account of previous requests for better access to Whipps Cross hospital.
“The bus changes to W12, W13 and W14 mean these routes now run more frequently to major hubs, making it easier to travel in and around the area.
“Many users on route W12 have seen frequencies doubled and W13 passengers can travel to Leyton without changing. On the new route W14, passengers have a higher frequency at the northern end of the route as well as an evening and Sunday frequency for the first time.
“26,500 more people now live within one bus journey of Whipps Cross hospital. Electric buses are being phased in as they arrive from manufacturers.”
“We continue to engage with the local community and have met local residents and their representatives. Our focus now is to improve the reliability of these routes."
The Independent has contacted Woodbridge High School for further comment.
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