It is one of the major concerns for parents every year: how will their children go to school? Especially in rural areas where school transport is essential for many families. However, its free nature is conditional on one rule: the family must live more than 3 kilometers from the college or high school. Except that within 100 meters, some families are not entitled to free transport and must pay 240 euros to the Region to get a school bus card! This is the case in the hamlet of Colnand, in Saint-Martin-en-Bresse, in Saône-et-Loire.
Angélique’s son Jacob is entering 6th grade and he cannot benefit from free school bus travel : “In mid-July, we received a letter informing us that we were not entitled to free travel for our children, so the bus is payable for us. Except that some residents of the hamlet live 3.1 kilometers away, so it’s free for them, while we live 2.9 kilometers away, and so it’s paid for us!”she protests. Especially since the bus stop for the hamlet is shared by everyone, and is less than 3 kilometers from the college.
A long and dangerous journey on foot or by bike
Families are protesting, especially since if their children cannot get on the bus, They will have to make the journey on foot or by bikeand it is clearly more dangerous. “In the city, 3 kilometers is nothing, but on a country road, there is no sidewalk and the road is extremely fast! We have to wait until we enter the town of Saint-Martin for our children to be safe.”says Angelique.
“We all live along the main road and there are no footpaths, no lights, no hard shoulders, you have to go through woods and bends.”lists Ophélie Guigue, another mother from the hamlet, who lives 2.8 kilometers from the college. “We are at a beautiful time in September, it is light in the morning and in the evening, we can hope that it will be nice. But in November, it is dark in the morning and in the evening, and we are not going to escape the rain. It is not possible for a child to walk 40 minutes in the rain or to ride a bike for 15 minutes in the rain, and arrive soaked to class!”she is indignant.
But she doesn’t hide it, if her son doesn’t get his free card, he’ll have to make the trip by bike. Because neither she nor other parents in the hamlet cannot take the children to school : “We are all working and we cannot ask our employers to adjust our schedules to take or pick up our children.”she explains.
No room for children when the bus arrives at Colnand
And that’s not the only problem: according to the families, the school bus is often full when he arrives at Colnand and so there is no room for their children ! When her son started 6th grade two years ago, Maud Monnot had to pay for the school bus because she also lives 2.8 kilometers from the college, but she stopped the following year because he could never find a seat: “There are too many people on the bus! The first year, I paid but I had to raise my voice because paying 240 euros to not have a seat is not possible”she explains.
“Even from a safety point of view, it’s dangerous: there were 10 students standing to do the remaining three kilometers to go to the college”she adds. “There are too many people entering the college each year, so it’s the snake biting its own tail, so I don’t think they will give us cards, because there is no more room on the bus!” According to her, the school bus is providing too much traffic: “Before, the bus went to far fewer towns, but now it goes to all the towns around Bey like Allériot, Montcoy, Perrigny, Guerfand, and we, the little hamlet of Colnand, are the last stop, so we’re not going to be favoured!”
So, for these parents, the solution might be to abolish the 3 kilometer rulepleads Maud: “We don’t realize it, but in rural areas, 3 kilometers is a lot, whereas in the city, there is transport! What would be good is to adapt on a case-by-case basis: for example, 2.8 kilometers should also be free!” And this is precisely what is being put in place: when contacted, the Region states: handle complaints on a case-by-case basis until the All Saints’ Day holidaysand that in the meantime, all children have free access to the school bus.
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