An agreement has been reached to allow school children from Cumbrae to travel home on any ferry during the school day after various restrictions were set to be imposed.
We reported last week that councillor Tom Marshall had branded the move impractical, and was unhappy at the restrictions which not only would have caused difficulties for the children, but also provided an administrative headache for teachers.
And with the onset of Largs Campus coming in March, there were concerns raised by parents, and Cumbrae Ferry Users Group about the impact.
The terms of the SPT Contract for ferry crossings would have seen designated school ferry times leaving Largs of 4.15pm on a Monday and Tuesday, and 3.45pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
However, Cllr. Marshall has raised these concerns with SPT and NAC and has now been informed that the move will now not go ahead.
Pupils were going to be charged £1.60 if they did not have their pass at the time of boarding. If pupils did not have sufficient funding, a ticket irregularity would be issued to allow them to board, and had to be paid back to the office within seven days.
It meant that pupils attending an after school club/play production/sport event would have required a letter from the school advising of this to entitle the pupils to use their passes out with the designated times.
Cllr. Marshall, is pleased that common sense had prevailed, and said: “It is good news that pupils will now be able to travel on any return, and we are prevented from any undue bureaucratic burden.”