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TRANSPORT

Pupils of compulsory school age are entitled to free school transport if they live beyond the statutory walking distance, which is 3 miles for students in Years 7 to 11. It is North Yorkshire County Council’s responsibility to make arrangements for all eligible children to travel to school in safety and comfort, but it is the responsibility of the parent or carer to ensure that children attend school.

If children attend a school that is not the nearest or normal school (ie the school the Local Authority has decided will serve your home address), parents are usually responsible for all travel arrangements and costs. Currently permits are available to purchase from Passenger Transport Services if there are seats on a vehicle hired for children who are entitled to free transport.

Richmond School runs three additional replacement bus services to serve those areas not covered by statutory transport provision put in place by the Local Authority.

Richmond School Replacement Bus Services

The RS1 Bedale Bus provides transport for students traveling from Masham and Bedale, as well as picking up students from Catterick Garrison.

The RS2 Northallerton and Catterick Bus provides transport for those students travelling from Northallerton, Catterick Village and the Garrison.

The RS3 Wensleydale Bus provides transport for students travelling from Middleham and Leyburn, as well as picking up students from Catterick Garrison.

To apply for a bus permit to travel on one of the school procured routes please complete our online application process accessed via the following link:  New or In-Year Replacement Bus Application 2023-24, and return an original copy of the Direct Debit Instruction Form.  To ensure that permits are received in time for the new academic year this process should be completed by 31 July.  Monthly payments for In-Year applications will be calculated based on the number of days the service will be used for.

Due to the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (PSVAR), and the requirement for operators to provide compliant transport from September, the cost of using all our home-to-school services for the coming academic year have necessarily increased by £0.50 per day.  Costs are dependent on the distance being travelled to and from school, and full details for different pickup points are provided during completion of the online application process. For those further away the annual cost for 2023-24 is  £1,140, equivalent to £6.00 per day.  To reflect shorter distances being travelled by students, the annual cost for 2023-24 is £1045, equivalent to £5.50 per day.

All payments made by instalment are collected by direct debit (on the 20th of each month).  The first instalment will be collected on 20 September, and the last payment collected on 20 July of the same academic year (11 monthly payments of either £103.64 or £95.00).

This is arranged by completing a Direct Debit Instruction Form and returning this for the attention of the Finance Office at Richmond School.  Unfortunately, the school is unable to accept forms by email as, in accordance with direct debit protocols, the original signed direct debit instruction form needs to be kept on file for a minimum period of six years.

Online applications and the accompanying receipt of a signed Direct Debit Instruction Form will be acknowledged by email, followed by a Notice of Collection issued at least 10 days before the first payment is due to be taken.  This will confirm your Payer Reference, amount, date and frequency of the proposed payment.

The benefit of this system is that once your initial application has been submitted online and a direct debit instruction put in place, nothing further will need to be completed in order to continue to use our replacement bus services.  Before the start of each academic year a new Notice of Collection will be issued to confirm payment arrangements for the year ahead.

 

School Travel Support and Paid Travel Permits

If you have any questions regarding North Yorkshire County Council’s school transport provision please contact the School Transport Team on 01609 532363 or email schooltransport@northyorks.gov.uk.

Alternatively, please follow this link which will take you to the Council’s School and College Transport page: https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-and-college-transport. You will find detailed information about the Local Authority school transport policy including how to apply for a bus pass or a Paid Travel Permit, and links to school bus routes and timetables.

Public Transport
The main public transport provider between Richmond School and Colburn/ Catterick Garrison is the X26/X27 service run by Arriva. This service is extremely busy, and to date no commitment has been made by Arriva to increase the size and number of buses operating on this route.

Future Provision
Ongoing commitment to the use of the RS1, RS2 and RS3 bus services will be essential for them to be able to continue, and if numbers start to drop then the services may need to be withdrawn.

Unfortunately, it is likely that home to school transport provision will continue to reduce in future years. Whilst the school will do all that it can to help, it should be remembered that parents of students attending Richmond School from out of catchment are ultimately responsible for all transport arrangements and costs.

For further details regarding our school transport provision please view the School Transport Information Sheet 2023-24 below, as well as our Replacement Bus Permit Terms & Conditions, Route Timetables and Direct Debit Instruction Form.  A dedicated email address is available buses-rch@arete.uk to deal with any queries that you may have so please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

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