A mum says she fears for the safety of her 11-year-old daughter after the council rejected her application for a bus pass because the vehicle is "too full".
Sienna Botham, who lives in the village of Buckshaw in Lancashire, is due to start St Michael's secondary school in nearby Chorley next month, but will have to get a public bus that doesn't stop near the school.
Her mum Marika, 42, wants her to take the 415 bus which takes pupils right up to the school gate, reports LancsLive.
The service is mainly for pupils eligible for free bus passes, but families of other pupils can pay for seasonal tickets for any remaining seats.
Marika applied for a pass - which costs £40 a month - in June but has since been informed by Lancashire County Council, who run the service, that there are no seats left and that they would revaluate the application in the October half term.
As a college teacher, Marika works during term time so taking her daughter to school herself "is not an option". She says she'd rather keep her out of school than worry every day if she got there or got home safe.
She explained that the only other option was a public bus that stops in Chorley town centre - "a 12 to 15 minute walk" from the school.
After receiving the rejection letter, Marika phoned the council and spoke to a council offer.
"He was really abrupt, just really short and he just said look, 'it's your responsibility to get your own child to school'."
She says the officer explained that the extra rows left on the bus, unclaimed by those eligible for free bus services, are what is offered to other parents to buy, but are on a first come first serve basis.
Marika posted on Facebook to see if other parents shared her predicament.
"So many people just said, 'yeah, I'm in exactly the same situation'. One of the parents had said that they were told that there were 12 on the waiting list before his daughter and it was a little bit like all of these children in Buckshaw want to get to school."
She decided to take action and organise a petition for school transport running through Buckshaw.
"Even if it's a public bus that stops at the schools, we just need something because them being dropped off at 11 years old, 15 minutes away from school isn't viable going into winter and while it's dark. We've gotten nearly 300 signatures on the petition and the amount of comments and people saying I'm in exactly the same situation."
In three weeks, Sienna will be starting high school but Marika says they still don't know what they will do about getting her there. Like many 11-year-olds, Sienna's mind was already preoccupied with the daunting concept of starting a new chapter in life and now Marika says her stress has increased with the travel issues.
"She had a sampling day and I said to her to get on the school bus and she was kind of stressing about that so I ended up taking her- but obviously when it comes to September, I can't do that," Marika explained.
She continued: "With an 11-year-old little girl I just feel really uncomfortable and even kind of go to the point of going you know what, I don't actually want her to go to school rather than worrying if I got to work thinking wonder she's got to school today."
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: "The 415 service to St Michael's currently satisfies the county council's statutory obligations to those pupils with an entitlement to home-to-school transport.
"However, we have held discussions with the operator and they are able to provide a slightly larger bus to provide seats for 8 extra pupils, whilst not incurring any additional cost to Lancashire County Council."
To sign Marika's petition to get better bus services for children in Buckshaw Village, click here.
