The price of school bus tickets is set to increase across County Durham, as the council struggles to cope with growing demand and inflation.
A proposal to seek people's views on potential changes to home to school transport arrangements in the region will be considered by councillors next week.
The authority currently provides transport for almost 9,000 children and young people across the county every day but is now proposing several changes.
The current price for concessionary seats is £1.63 per day but could rise to £2.80 for a return journey in line with a similar Go North East Under 19 fare from September.
Concessionary seats are spare seats available on a school bus, that are sold to pupils who are not entitled to free transport. There are currently 11 schools participating covering travel by 2,110 children.
Growing demand and inflation have seen the cost of providing the service rise to £24.3million this year, with a further increase of £4.8million forecast next year, according to council estimates.
Other proposals include the introduction of a new programme to help children with special educational needs and disabilities learn the skills they need to travel independently, where safe and appropriate, and making it simpler and easier for parents and carers to access Personal Travel Budgets so they can make their own travel choices.
Physical works to improve routes currently classified as "unsafe" are also proposed, as making them safe would enable some pupils to walk or cycle to school, which can contribute to their health and wellbeing.
Cllr Ted Henderson, cabinet member for children and young people's services, said: "We have a statutory duty to provide free transport to and from schools and colleges to children and young people who meet specified criteria.
"This includes children with special educational needs and disabilities as well as those pupils who attend schools a specified distance from their homes, with the distance varying depending on their age and circumstances.
"But in County Durham, we currently go above and beyond our statutory duty by providing home to school transport to pupils who don't qualify for free transport under our statutory obligations.
"All in all, it's a huge and complex daily operation that involves over 1,000 transport routes and 300 contracted suppliers.
"We've also seen costs soar in recent years due to rising fuel prices and wages, inflation, and growing demand. More steep rises are forecast in future."
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Cabinet members will consider a proposal to carry out a full public consultation when they meet on Wednesday, February 8.
"These proposals are based on an in-depth review of our home to school transport arrangements, which we commissioned in 2021,” cllr Henderson added.
"The proposed changes would bring us more into line with similar councils."
"We know pupils, parents and carers will want all the details and to have their say on any changes, and if this report is agreed by Cabinet next week we'll be doing a full and thorough public consultation.”
If agreed, a full public consultation will take place between Monday, February 27, and Wednesday, April 12, ahead of a final decision being made by cabinet in the summer.
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