The boss of Stagecoach will get a grilling from local MPs on Monday over the discontinuation of a school bus service and “extortionate” price hikes.

Conservative MPs Sir Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and Tavistock) and Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) are meeting the bus company’s MD, Peter Knight, at Sir Geoffrey’s constituency office in Tavistock on August 11.

Among other things Sir Geoffrey will be asking Mr Knight to scrap plans to shelve the busy X1 service, which transports children from Tavistock and Yelverton to schools in Plymouth.

Miss Smith will quiz the bus boss on why post-16 children are having to pay an extra £150 a term to get to school or college.

Rising fares will affect all school children from the end of August and changes in ticketing methods mean children as young as 11 will be forced to use a smart phone every day to get reduced rates. The changes have been heavily criticised by parents.

Sir Geoffrey said it had been the main subject in his email inbox since Stagecoach made the announcement from the “top to the bottom” of his contingency.

Opposition to the changes have got cross-party support with both North Devon MP Ian Roome and Devon County Council’s rural affairs cabinet member Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin, who are both Liberal Democrats, launching petitions.

“There is a huge volume of concern, anxiety, sometimes outright desperation from parents who cannot see how they will afford to get their children to school,” said Sir Geoffrey.

“There are some parents who may not drive and are dependent on these buses and suddenly they are told their costs are going to rise exponentially.

“What I want to ask the managing director is why there was no warning or consultation over this or finding out what impact this would have on families.

“Most importantly we need to find practical solutions, the options that are being offered at the moment are inadequate. 

“The entire situation is unacceptable and we have to have assurances that serious work will be done over the next two or three weeks to put in viable options for parents. I will be asking Mr Knight to keep the X1 service and more besides.”

He said if nothing was resolved, he would seek a parliamentary debate with Miss Smith and other MPs about Stagecoach’s stewardship of bus services.

Parents say the cost of school bus had nearly doubled in some cases, with the removal of child return fares and a rise in daily tickets from £3.20 to around £6.

But Stagecoach said it was introducing a more flexible ticketing structure designed to give families greater choice, with multi-day and monthly- app-based options bringing the price down to £3.49 per day. 

“These app-based tickets allow students to board faster, improve punctuality, reduce paper waste, and offer live bus tracking, helping parents and children plan more effectively,” says Stagecoach.

The bus company said the X1 service, whilst well used during peak school periods, was hard to sustain year-round under the existing pricing and funding model.

Parents said the alternative Number 1 Tavistock to Plymouth service was not direct and a seat could not be guaranteed, while the private bus option (organised by schools) was unaffordable.