FALMOUTH and Penryn parents, carers and students have been reassured by Cornwall Council that arrangements for transport are in place for students travelling to and from schools when they reopen in September.

The Council is going to continue providing transport for eligible students to and from school and in post-16 education through dedicated student-only school buses, taxis/minibuses and other forms of transport including public bus services.

Some peak time public bus services that have previously been available for anyone to travel on, are being reserved for students only to travel to school.

84 of these public bus journeys (normally one in the morning and one in the afternoon) out of over 1,400 bus journeys supported by the Council will change from being open to all passengers to being reserved for students to travel to school.

The remaining 94% of journeys on the normal network will be unaffected and fully operational.

Cornwall Council cabinet member for transport Geoff Brown said:

"We're asking the public to help by not travelling at peak times if possible, and to check before they set off that the bus journey they intend to travel on has not been changed to student use only. We realise that this may cause issues for a small number of passengers who perhaps use that bus to get to work so we're urging employers to be understanding of the situation.

"Any member of the public affected by a bus journey that has been changed to student use only should contact the transport team who will try to assist wherever possible with essential journeys."

Parents and carers are being asked not to drive children to school but instead encourage their children to walk, scoot or cycle, particularly for those shorter journeys, which will ease traffic congestion, improve air quality and reduce carbon footprint.

Geoff Brown added:

"We all have a part to play in making sure that everyone understands and abides by the government guidance around social distancing. The most important things are that we plan ahead, all wash our hands thoroughly and regularly, wear face coverings on public transport whilst following the two-metre distancing rule or, if that is not possible, the 'one metre plus' approach, as outlined by the Government."

Click here to find out more about school transport.

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