The fight to reinstate a school bus for more than 140 Chessington children has been stepped up, after parents hit a wall of silence from Transport for London (TfL) bosses.
Parents claimed their phone calls and emails have been repeatedly ignored since they met a TfL officer to discuss the problem last July.
Now MP Edward Davey has stepped in to try to speed things up.
The bus service from Chessington to Hinchley Wood School was cancelled by Surrey County Council in December 2006 because it was under used.
Children have since faced a dangerous walk along the A3 or joining school-run traffic with dozens of other parents.
Father of two Steve Griffiths said: “The roads get snarled up. If the Chessington kids got a bus, it would probably take 50 or 60 cars off the road, which is a lot of traffic around the school.”
Chessington mother Steph Narramore said her sons often walk home along the A3 within metres of speeding traffic.
She added: “TfL’s argument is that it can run one bus into Surbiton and out again but that can take up to an hour.
“We looked at hiring our own bus but it was too expensive, at about £250 a day.”
Councillor Mary Reid, who has been campaigning on the residents’ behalf, said her emails and phone calls have also been ignored for more than seven months.
She said: “We need to go right to the top of TfL to say this is a serious issue. There are 140 children, it goes against all their green policies and their simply not responding to residents or elected representatives.”
Update:
A Transport for London spokesperson said: “We have met the people campaigning for a bus service to Hinchley Wood School and are considering their request.
"The school is currently served by bus route K3 and students from Hook and Chessington are able to travel to school by taking route 71 and changing to route K3 at Surbiton.
“We keep the bus network under regular review to ensure it provides the best possible service for passengers.”
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