Parents have reported an issue with over-crowded school buses in Horringer which means children are often being left with no way to get to school.
They told Nick Timothy MP this problem had occurred frequently since early September 2025.
Taking action, Mr Timothy has written to Stephensons buses to clarify the situation, and to ask what is being done to resolve it. You can see his letter below.
Commenting, Mr Timothy said:
“This situation is completely unacceptable. Local children need to get to school and I expect the council and the bus company to get this sorted. I share the concerns of parents, who are very understandably frustrated and worried. I have written to Stephensons to get clarification on why this has been allowed to happen, and to find out what steps are being taken to fix it.”
Stephensons got back to Mr Timothy to say the following:
Good afternoon, Mr Timothy
“Thank you for the email and attached letter.
We are aware of the current situation, and we are closely monitoring passenger numbers daily while at the same time actively exploring potential solutions to try and resolve the current issue.
One contributing factor is the change in responsibility for the college run bus services to Bury St Edmunds. A few years ago, we had operated these routes, which allowed us to better control capacity and demand. Since these services have been operated by other operators, we’ve observed that some students who should be using college specific transport are instead waiting for our services, which adds to loading pressures.
I have also been made aware that the closure of a sixth form college in Haverhill has led to increased numbers at West Suffolk College and Abbeygate Sixth Form, further impacting service demand.
We have been trying to find a workable solution to this quandary, which hasn’t been easy as the peak times when these services operate are our busies times but that said I am pleased to state we have found a feasible solution to try and alleviate the current situation.
As of today, there will be a duplicate service bus operating on our route 15A in the mornings.
Kind regards [Stephensons]
