CORNWALL’S bus services have been deemed “not fit for purpose” when it comes to student travel, according to the principal of one of the Duchy’s leading colleges.

His comment comes after a parent said that new changes to a bus route made her daughter miss a vital mock A-level exam.

Changes by First Bus came into effect on April 20 as part of bi-annual network alterations for Cornwall and have been designed using feedback from customers and drivers, working closely with Cornwall Council. The company said: “For the first time in Cornwall, we are using an AI-based scheduling system called Prospective to improve the reliability of timetables and shift patterns, using AI to predict traffic conditions and peak running times to help ensure services run on time.”

First said to improve running times and help to minimise delays, some routes will be changed from ‘through routes’ to a ‘hub and spoke’ model, meaning buses will terminate at Truro Bus Station rather than continue as one long journey – which is affecting student travel to Truro College. The company says this will allow passengers to connect to onward journeys and will reduce the impact of traffic delays having a knock-on effect across the network.

A parent from St Austell, who only wanted to be known as Rebecca, shared her concerns. She said: “I’m reaching out in the hope that you might be able to highlight an urgent and worrying issue affecting students in the St Austell area. Just as A-level exams are about to begin, the T1 college bus route has been replaced with the 27 – but this new service now only picks up from St Austell Bus Station.

“This sudden change means my daughter, along with many others, is now expected to walk over a mile early in the morning to get to the bus station. Some students are having to walk more than two miles. There is no alternative service running early enough to connect them to the 27 in time. This is not just an inconvenience, it’s a serious safeguarding issue and is causing huge amounts of stress for students, many of whom are already dealing with the pressure of exams.

“This morning, my daughter had to take the 8.35 bus from the train station after discovering the 27 no longer served her stop and she has now missed her mock A-level Spanish speaking exam. These exams are vital for university offers and missing one could have serious, long-term consequences. I’m lost for words at how poorly thought-out this change is.

“It’s not just students affected. What about elderly passengers who also relied on the T1 route? They too are now expected to walk long distances without a suitable alternative.”

The service now only goes from the bus station in St Austell to the bus station in Truro. She added: “It is deeply concerning that families paid for bus passes based on the assurance that students would be collected from designated stops around St Austell and transported directly to Truro College. Instead, students are now required to walk – in some cases significant distances – to the bus station and then rely on a second bus service to reach the college. This change has caused considerable disruption.”

A spokesperson for Truro and Penwith College said it shared the concerns of parents and students. “We would like to clarify that the recent changes to public bus services, including the withdrawal of the previous T1 college route, were made independently by the bus companies and are part of countywide revisions to the public transport network.

“Truro and Penwith College was not involved in the decision-making process around these alterations. However, once we were made aware of the changes, we promptly communicated with our students and families via email and social media, encouraging them to check their transport arrangements ahead of returning from the Easter break.

“We understand and share the concerns about the increased distances some students now face to reach bus services. While we do not operate public bus services directly, we are in active discussions with transport providers and local stakeholders to highlight the impact these changes are having on our students. We are also reviewing our broader transport network for September to explore potential solutions that better meet the needs of our college community.

“Students’ safety and well-being are our highest priorities. We are doing everything within our remit to support affected students and encourage any students or families affected to continue to raise their concerns with the bus operators directly.”

Students elsewhere in Cornwall have also been hit by the bus changes. Callywith College’s principal Dr Jon Grey said that while the college was not directly affected by the changes to the public network, its students are experiencing its indirect impact.

He said: “The buses serving Callywith College are registered on the public network but have been specifically procured by the college to guarantee protection of our student journeys. However, some students have been affected by changes to connecting services commissioned by Cornwall Council like the 26 and 11 run by Go Cornwall.

“We have written to Ben Maguire MP to highlight the exceptional difficulties all colleges in Cornwall face transporting students to their chosen provider. Cornwall’s bus network is not fit for the purpose of delivering all post-16 students to their chosen college despite government policy insisting they remain in education.”

Dr Grey added: “Following huge increases in costs and the stagnation of inadequate transport funding, Callywith College has to subsidise the cost of bus travel with unsustainable amounts of money that should be used for frontline teaching and student support. We welcome Ben Maguire’s support in building collaboration between the colleges and encouraging Cornwall Council to be more active in their contributions to solving this problem for the young people of Cornwall.”

Earlier this month, North Cornwall MP Ben Maguire wrote to Cornwall Council about the issue. He said: “As it stands, Callywith College are having to take out funds from their education budget simply to get pupils to and from the college. This is eating into the resources they’re able to provide students with and placing them under financial strain.

“Today, I wrote to Cornwall Council to request a meeting with their transport team and see what solutions can be found by working together on this issue.”

A First Bus in Cornwall spokesperson has responded to the concerns, specifically those concerning the transport to Truro and Penwith College. They said: “We want to offer a consistent and reliable service to as many people as possible, but to ensure the viability of the entire network in Cornwall we must plan our routes to ensure we are providing services where there are the greatest areas of demand. The T1 is a commercial service, and as such, we have to carefully allocate our resources when we plan the route.

“Our process for network changes engages Cornwall Council as part our Enhanced Partnership agreement. They and local councillors were consulted on the planned changes and the 27 service was developed and funded with BSIP funding from Cornwall Council.

“We continue to work with Cornwall Council to ensure we are providing the best possible bus services for the communities we serve and to support them where they look to provide services based on social need.”

Concerning the Callywith concerns, a council spokesperson said: “The council provides school transport for all students who qualify through the Post 16 Travel Assistance Policy.” They said the policy in the link – www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/4naafoee/post-16-travel-assistance-policy-2024-25-version-10-may-2024.pdf – explains clearly who is eligible for school transport.

They said they were unable to go into more detail during the sensitive political pre-election period this week but reiterated First Bus’ comment that the T1 service to Truro was operated commercially by the bus company.