| Year | Alt Vehicle Spot/Cum Cost | Appeals (S1 / S2 / S3) Count | Appeals Spot/Cum Cost | General Admin Spot/Cum Cost | STAG Projected Cost | Council Claimed Savings (Phased) | Net Savings / Deficit |
|---|
Transitioning to a "nearest school only" policy fractures bus routes. Instead of transporting children on large-capacity coaches, the council is forced to commission bespoke daily alternative vehicle contracts for isolated rural pupils, resulting in a massive increase in per-pupil transport costs.
| Transport Type | Average Capacity | Annual Vehicle Cost | Annual Cost Per Head |
|---|
Excluding families from free transport triggers a massive pipeline of administrative appeals. Processing these appeals consumes thousands of officer hours, clerk resources, and senior management reviews.
| Appellate Stage | Staff Requirements | Processing Model | Fully Loaded Unit Cost |
|---|
The council's financial model assumes that 100% of affected families will accept losing transport and fund their own travel to their preferred catchment school.
Because the policy applies only to new intake pupils, large capacity buses must continue running the same routes at 100% contract costs to service grandfathered cohorts.
For border families, the nearest school often falls inside a neighboring local authority, directing pupil funding away from North Yorkshire schools.