CHANGES to how pupils in North Yorkshire travel to and from school are under a 12-week consultation.

North Yorkshire County Council is considering new proposals which it says would make "home to school transport fairer and more consistent" for about 20,000 pupils each day, and enable savings for the authority - which last year cost about £24.7m - more than a quarter of its £88m education budget for children and young people.

Proposals put forward by the council, which will mainly affect students between four and 16, include:

- Providing free transport for eligible children when they start school in the reception year, rather than when they turn five, to encourage parents to return to work.

- Collecting from pick-up points, rather than door to door, unless medical, mobility or special educational needs require otherwise.

- Only providing free school transport to and from the pupils’ main home address, and charging for transport to an additional address.

- Charging a £30 fee for replacement school transport bus passes, which are currently replaced for free.

- Introducing an application process for home to school transport, taking into account after-school clubs or child minders.

- Making free transport available to the pupil’s catchment school or nearest school.

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Education and Skills, said: "As an authority, a lot of the home to school transport services we offer are above the statutory minimum, but we need to ensure what we offer is fair and consistent to everyone.

"We also recognise we’re a rural county without the public transport links some other areas have and recognise the difficulties this presents across North Yorkshire. We want to protect transport from home to school for those who need it the most and for those who are entitled to it."

The consultation runs until June 16 and is available at https://www.northyorks.gov.uk/h2stransportconsult

A series of drop-in sessions will also be held around the region, and printed copies of the proposals and survey are also available - to find out more, phone 01609 780780 or email customer.services@northyorks.gov.uk