A school bus service which is set to be cancelled has sparked fears increased traffic could create more pressure on our roads as parents are forced to drive their children to school.

Carousel Buses has announced it is planning to scrap the BB16 service from Marlow Bottom to Wycombe – which has come as a blow to students who use the bus daily.

Speaking at a meeting of Bucks County Council’s (BCC) children’s select committee yesterday (July 10), education chief Mike Appleyard said a potential company has been identified to run the service – however it has not been confirmed.

County councillor for Marlow, Alex Collingwood, asked if a new service will be in place by September 2018 – as additional cars would add more congestion to the already busy Handy Cross Roundabout.

He said: “My concern is the timeframe it is going to take and how soon will we be able to communicate what the alternative solution will be?

“Because my concern is what’s happening is this is not rural, it’s urban to urban.

“It’s through junction four of the M40 – that’s where the buses go through."

Cllr Appleyard was unable to confirm whether a service will be in place by the beginning of the autumn term, stating he is neither “confident or not confident”.

The BB16 bus was originally a county council contracted home-to-school transport service – however it was handed over to the commercial company in 2014, and now also runs as a public service.

The education chief said there has been “an enormous amount of speculation” regarding the cancellation, adding parents will be kept informed as the council works with bus companies to find a solution.

He added that Carousel initially failed to tell the council it is planning on cancelling the service, only informing parents, which has delayed work towards finding an alternative solution.

Cllr Appleyard said: “There is no process apart from trying to find an alternative.

“We are looking around widely, we have very good contact with bus companies, all bus companies.

“It is not just finding somebody who might do it, it is making sure that we are covering ourselves against some of the things that have already happened to us.

“We have also got to consider what the situation would be if we can’t find a bus company to do it. We are working very hard to do all of that.

“The fact you haven’t got an answer in two weeks is the reflection of how difficult it is to get everything tied up.

“Parents will get it as soon as we can possibly get it to them.”