Angry parents are forced to collect their children from the side of the road after bus driver quit in the middle of their journey home

• School admits problems with services after bus broke down for ‘third time’

Angry parents had to collect their children from the side of the road after a bus driver quit in the middle of their journey home.

The students from Kingston Maurward College and the Dorset Studio School were travelling from Dorchester to Bournemouth when the driver decided she had had enough and walked out on her job, pulling over near a depot in Poole.

Parents tracking their children on an app saw that the bus, which had already broken down on the journey and been replaced by another, had stopped at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

One concerned mother said her son told her the students had to disembark onto a busy road, prompting safeguarding concerns from parents.

The service for the two schools has been run by transport operator Kura since September, but has had a number of ‘teething problems’.

Angry parents were forced to collect their children from the side of a road after a school bus driver abandoned their bus (file photo)

A parent said it was the third time this term that the bus had broken down and the driver said she quit because of concerns about the vehicles.

She said she never left any children unattended. Some parents came to collect their children while others boarded another vehicle sent to the scene after she alerted a manager she did not want to work for the company any longer.

She said: ‘I waited with the remaining children until all of them had been picked up by their parents. I did not abandon any of the children.

‘As far as I was concerned, they were my responsibility until they had all been picked up whether or not I worked for the company at that time. There is no way I would’ve left any young child on the side of the road.’

A concerned mother said: ‘This is the third time this term that the 703 bus has broken down and it makes me wonder whether the buses are fit for purpose.

‘When I called Kura to ask them what the problem was, they said they didn’t even know – but the buses are breaking down left, right and centre.’

Kingston Maurward College principal Luke Rake said the driver pulled over near the closest bus depot and the manager at the depot raced down to replace the driver.

He said that 95 per cent of the routes ‘run like clockwork’ but admitted there had been problems with the 701 and 703 services.

Students travelling from Kingston Marwaud College and Dorset Studio School (pictured, file photo) were left to disembark onto a busy road

He said: ‘We are facing challenges affecting this particular route that are unfortunately affecting the same children every time.

‘The college and Kura are as frustrated with some of the challenges we’ve faced as parents are and are looking to have the problems rectified as soon as possible.’

Mr Rake added that newer vehicles for these routes have been ordered but are ‘stuck at the production line’, which is beyond Kura’s control, and they managed this situation ‘professionally’.

A letter sent to parents said: ‘Whilst disappointingly the driver did not finish the route they contacted their manager to inform them they would be pulling the vehicle over along the route between stop 5 and 6 just two minutes from the depot in order for them to take over the service, ensuring students were not left unattended.

‘The General Manager was present at the vehicle two to three minutes after it became stationary and proceeded to drive to the next stop.’

MailOnline has approached Kura for comment.

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