School children with freedom bus passes should be able to board Southern Vectis’s normal public buses, as alternatives to the operator’s dedicated buses for scholars, says an Isle of Wight father.

Meanwhile, the bus firm insists pupils are not 'banned' from using public buses, but adds they should use the scholar-only services instead.

It is a message that has meant an Island teenager has unexpectedly been refused a seat on a bus route that the family has relied on for years. They pay £117 for a 90 day freedom pass - which has previously meant unlimited travel on any bus.

Due to Covid-19 regulations, public buses cannot carry as many passengers.

Buses for school children are not subject to the same governmental restrictions, however, and social distancing is not required.

It has raised safety fears for some, alongside worries about behaviour and anxiety.

Richard Tyldsley, Southern Vectis general manager, said: “We are certainly not refusing school pupils access to our buses. However, we do need to ensure everyone who wishes to travel with us is able to practice social distancing.” 

Southern Vectis says it is trying to guarantee space for all passengers on busy routes, but others argue children should not be forced to travel on buses that are not socially distanced - with year group bubbles mixing in a confined space.

Richard Tyldsley said: “We have introduced a number of ‘duplicate’ buses on normal service routes. That means two buses following the same route. 

“The duplicate buses are not school buses but service buses introduced exclusively for students - and all tickets are accepted. 

“We’ve been asking them to board these buses, rather than the regular ones, because we want to ensure there is plenty of space for our regular customers too - especially the many key workers we carry each day.”

Southern Vectis also runs the Isle of Wight Council’s school bus contract - which underwent major changes at the start of this academic year. Many traditional routes and paid-for seats were scrapped. 

To meet the shortfall, and to transport the scores of students left without a route to class, scholar-only buses were introduced. Southern Vectis has also added buses on busy routes worst affected by the coronavirus regulations.

Southern Vectis says scholar-only buses do have reduced capacity - but only because the front seats are not used. It says scholar buses are cleaned in the same way as its regular route vehicles.

Mr Tyldsley said: “Our team is looking forward to a time when we no longer need on-board social distancing arrangements, and I’d like to thank our customers across the Island for their patience during this very challenging time.” 

But one dad told the County Press that if a child was told they could not get on a bus, that was the same as being banned from it. Their only option would be to wait for a later service, or use the scholar-only bus. 

He said: “Why is it safe for school children to travel on overcrowded buses, but it isn’t acceptable for other members of the public? Will children be forced to use these scholar-only buses after Covid-19?”