A 45% school bus fare hike is too much, says Coventry dad

BBCA standard college bus route between Coventry and Rugby has been taken over by a brand new operator – a transfer which dad or mum Ambi Ambituuni says will hit him within the pocket.A dad-of-two needs a bus operator to rethink its costs for a preferred college route amid plans for an enormous fare hike.Ambi Ambituuni’s daughter at present makes use of the 85 bus operated by Nationwide Categorical to journey between her house in Coventry and her college in Rugby – journeys costing £165 a time period.From January 1, the identical route will probably be taken over by Stagecoach and the fares are set to be £75.60 a month, which equates to a forty five% enhance over a time period.Stagecoach has been contacted for remark.Mr Ambituuni stated he learnt of the change of bus operator by way of a dad and mom’ group chat which prompted him to examine what the brand new fares could be, studying the term-long outlay would equate to £302.40.”It’s a substantial quantity, particularly given the price of dwelling stress proper now on dad and mom and on guardians and I do know will probably be a problem many will probably be dealing with come January 2026,” he stated.The bus Mr Ambituuni’s daughter makes use of is standard because it serves three faculties in Rugby.He needs Warwickshire County Council and Stagecoach to think about the affect the fare enhance may have.”I believe they want to have a look at the pricing once more,” he stated. “It needs to be like for like with what Nationwide Categorical is providing.”I believe that they need to provide costs which might be comparable. I believe that Warwickshire County Council must put stress on the operator provided that they’re those that supplied the contract to the operator.”The native authority has been contacted for remark.