Statement in relation to school bus pass costs at Stanway School

Central Connect operate bus routes 901, 902, 903 and 907 to Stanway School. Bus routes 901, 902 and 903 are operated on a commercial basis, without external funding. Bus route 907 is operated under contract to Essex County Council.

During the 2025-2026 academic year the bus pass price for routes 901, 902 and 903 was £942 for the year. This price has increased by 6.1% for the 2026-2027 academic year, to £999. We believe that this is a reasonable increase, given the significant increases we have faced this year affecting our fuel costs, how much the parts for our buses cost and how much we pay our colleagues.

£999 per year equates to £5.26 per day, or £2.63 per single journey (based on 190 school days per year), which we believe still represents very good value overall.

However, we recognise that for passengers using route 907 the position is rather different. The bus pass price for route 907 during the 2025-2026 academic year was £405, and we recognise that the sudden increase to £999 was significant and unexpected for many parents. The reason for this is that the revenue collected on route 907 has never fully covered its operating cost (hence the provision of the subsidy by Essex County Council). The problem is, our costs have increased but the subsidy provided by Essex County Council has not. That subsidy has been fixed since 2024, and will not change until 2028, which causes us significant difficulty due to the steep and unexpected increases we have faced in our fuel prices.

We wrote to Essex County Council in March 2026 requesting support with the cost of fuel needed to deliver the bus services we operate on their behalf. Having received no support, we highlighted at the end of April 2026 that there would be significant fare increases for customers if no support was forthcoming.

Regrettably, no support has been forthcoming, and so we have had no choice but to impose these significant fare increases to try and maintain the sustainability of our business.

On a personal note, I am particularly disappointed that Essex County Council have denied to the BBC that we made any requests. I feel that this shows a lack of candour on the part of the senior leadership of Essex County Council’s Integrated Public Transport Unit. We are, therefore, taking the highly unusual step of publishing the correspondence below to evidence that we have been wholly truthful in what we have said.

Essex County Council fuel support email one

Essex County Council fuel support email two

The disappointment is made more acute by the fact that all of the other Local Transport Authorities with whom we work have worked closely in partnership with us to find resolutions to this issue. Various strategies have been employed, including direct financial support, allocating extra passengers to our routes to increase our revenue per bus and redesigning of contracts to reduce costs. Had Essex County Council engaged with us properly, we could have explored alternative solutions to avoid needing to pass such significant increases onto passengers.

So, what can be done at this late stage?

I do recognise the very challenging situation that parents on route 907 find themselves in, and having reflected carefully on the matter, I do not believe that parents should experience the stress of having to find such a large sum of money in such a short space of time due to the disappointing actions of Essex County Council.

Therefore, the following arrangements will apply for route 907 only with immediate effect:

• Parents wishing for their children to travel on route 907 for the full academic year should purchase the Autumn term pass, which we have reduced in price to £375. 
• We will use the Autumn term to once again attempt to engage with Essex County Council over financial support for route 907. If any support is provided we will use this to reduce the cost of the Spring and Summer term passes.
• If no support is provided, we will price the Spring and Summer term passes at £200 each, rather than the planned £340 each, thus allowing parents to access travel at a total cost for the year of £775, and paid in three installments rather than one.
• If financial support is provided, either through direct support for route 907, or through a fares discount (e.g. funded through the Love Your Bus Scheme, if that re-opens for bids), we will pass this on directly to parents and further reduce the price of the Spring and Summer term passes accordingly.

We hope that this is a helpful way of providing support to parents affected by these price changes at what is, we recognise, a challenging time for us all.

Peter Nathanail, Managing Director, Central Connect

28th August 2026