Campaigners have demanded to know why North Yorkshire Council is refusing to release maps used to determine a child’s eligibility for free school transport amid claims of numerous inaccuracies within the system.
Members of the School Transport Action Group (STAG) claim it is “no coincidence” that access to the maps has been restricted after its members highlighted the errors.
A mapping system is used to determine the distance from a child’s home to their surrounding schools, with the council’s controversial new policy only providing free transport to their nearest.
But STAG claims that its tests, using maps previously issued by the council to 24 schools, found that none of the routes ended at a school gate, as required.
Instead, the group said it found that routes stopped at random points within school grounds.
In several cases, the tests discovered that the starting points were also wrong, beginning from neighbouring properties or side streets rather than the child’s home address.
According to the group, other issues have been found, including routes that are supposed to use the “shortest available walked route” actually crossing private property, rivers and Ministry of Defence firing ranges.
A STAG spokesperson said:
“This matters because in many cases the difference between a child’s first, second and third nearest school is marginal — we’re talking about distances measured in feet, not miles.
“Even small mapping errors can completely change whether a family qualifies for free transport to their first-choice school.
“If our findings are confirmed, it means every single distance measurement made since the policy came into force last September would be wrong — and there are families out there who have been unjustly denied school transport.
“This has the potential to be a systemic breach of North Yorkshire Council’s own rules and a classic case of maladministration on a grand scale.”
It is understood that parents currently applying for school admission in September 202 are being told they can only see the names and distances of their seven nearest schools.
Any request for the supporting route maps or evidence showing how those distances were calculated is being refused, with the council only making maps available to families who have been denied school transport and choose to appeal.
STAG has written to senior council officers and councillors seeking an explanation.
“It’s time this council was made to own up to its mistakes rather than trying to stonewall parents and hide behind a wall of secrecy,” the spokesperson added.
One parent, who asked not to be named, said:
“It’s impossible to make informed choices when we’re left in the dark.
“We’re being asked to trust data that we know the council has a habit of getting wrong.”
The controversial policy change on home-to-school transport was introduced to reduce the council’s annual school transport bill of more than £52m.
In response to the criticism, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for inclusion, Amanda Fielding, said:
“It is not uncommon for children to attend a school in neighbouring authority areas, thousands of children travel to and from neighbouring areas every day.
“We have a duty to provide transport to eligible children and we want to ensure this is in a safe, efficient and cost-effective way.
"When measuring distances from home to school, the distance is calculated from each home address to the nearest entrance gate identified within our mapping system following the nearest available walked route (this can include footpaths, bridleways and public rights of way).
“Our mapping system is updated on an annual basis and was last updated in September 2025. The methodology for measuring distances in this way is aligned to Department for Education guidance for local authorities.
“It is important to note that eligibility for travel is only decided after a pupil is offered a place in a school.”
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