Parents of Moray schoolchildren have been reassured that there will be buses to take pupils to school, despite an ongoing dispute over transport contracts.
Moray Council is currently embroiled in a battle with a north-east coach operator regarding the original tendering of contracts.
This means that they cannot issue full-term agreements with transport companies until the issue is resolved.
However, staff are in the process of making temporary arrangements with operators which will see them run buses until February before more permanent decisions can be made.
Maynes and Deveron Coaches are both said to be in discussions with the council over these plans.
A Moray Council spokesman said: “Parents are assured that all school transport arrangements will be in place when the new term starts in August.”
Moray Council originally offered a tender process for school transport contracts, which involved inviting companies to bid for them, with the most suitable bidder gaining the contract for the school year.
This has now been scrapped until at least February, due to the ongoing legal issue involving the local authority.
There has been criticism from coach operators, who believe that the “shambles” of the situation and the short-term contracts they have received will affect their future business plans.
Councillor Tim Eagle, Conservative Group leader and a member of the Children and Young People Committee, was previously worried about the uncertainty around the contracts.
He said: “I have been contacted by local people who are very worried by the continued uncertainty over the award of the school bus contracts. They feel their livelihoods could be at stake.”
Moray MP Douglas Ross also highlighted the importance of the school bus service to parents.
He said: “The school bus service is absolutely critical to many people, and not just the children and their families but also the drivers as well. Outside the school run period many of the buses and drivers provide lifeline services to other bus-users in communities across Moray.”
