More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
More than 240 public buses are being used for Kent school use as education bosses say the local transport service remains secure.
Thousands of school children across the county have been using these buses at around 70% capacity as social distancing and face covering rules apply.
However, since the return of schools in September, concerns have been raised about some bus services being overcrowded and children not wearing face masks, including one Stagecoach route to a Canterbury secondary school.
Kent County Council's (KCC) education director, David Adams, said: "Currently the capacity of the bus system is holding.
"We have added 117 buses to the routes to add capacity where we think there will be pressure and we recently commissioned another 10 vehicles."
His comments came during a virtual cabinet meeting where KCC's education cabinet member, Cllr Richard Long (Con), said that any problems faced with schools were "surprisingly few" following their full return this month.
The Tonbridge county councillor said: "It is clear that at present most children have returned to school at Kent as planned."
However, KCC leader Roger Gough (Con) expressed caution and said: "It is premature to declare victory on this."
"The situation always changes and secondly not everything works perfectly all the time, but we do seek to respond quickly when particular issues arise."
Demand for KCC's Travel Saver, which saves up to 50% on the cost of bus journeys for pupils in years 7 to 11, has increased dramatically since August.
Last month, applications for the cut-price travel pass had dropped massively from to 6,100, representing 25% of last year's intake of 24,000, while figures for the 16+ pass plummeted from 7,000 to 1,800.
However, interest for the KCC Travel Saver has shot up during September. The uptake has increased to nearly 70% - around 16,000 pupils. More than 3,000 submissions have been received for the 16+ pass since the start of the month.
"It is premature to declare victory on this..."
Cllr Gough said: "It is clearly something we will need to keep on monitoring as we see the stinging rise in applications for Kent Travel Saver."
KCC's education opposition spokesman, Cllr Trudy Dean (Lib Dem), of West Malling, said the county council had done a "reasonable job" on this issue.
She said: "This always tends to be problematic at the beginning of term, but I have received no complaints in my division."
