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Parents have been anxious over the current public bus timetable that takes students to Northampton College from Towcester and were desperate for action to be taken since last term

With college term start dates looming again, there has been a large amount of concern about the buses to get students living in Towcester into Northampton College in time for the start of their classes.

The current bus service means they arrive at 9.17am, with many classes starting at 9am, leaving students with late marks.

Stagecoach has now announced they will be changing its bus service 88 to an earlier time from October 31, meaning students can arrive at the Northampton bus station at 8.18, allowing plenty of time to get the connecting buses to the Booth Lane college.

Stagecoach has now altered a morning service from Towcester to Northampton after concerns were raised about college students arriving late.

Alison Lydon parent of a Towcester student said: “This has not been acceptable. We had notified the college that the current bus times will not allow them to arrive in time but tutors had already informed students at their induction they will be penalised, regardless of the reason.”

It is estimated that there are 84 pupils who make the journey from Towcester to attend the college in Booth Lane, many of which have no option but to use public transport. With the town continuing to increase in size and no provision for more spaces for sixth form students, the number of students needing to attend colleges outside the area and use public buses is only set to increase.

Chronicle and Echo contacted Stagecoach for its comments on the bus service in the morning from Towcester, with messages left at Northampton College transport department, to ensure they were aware of the problem. This newspaper also previously reported on the concerns parents were facing.

Today (September 15), Stagecoach said: “We have been undertaking a network review with West Northamptonshire Council. As part of that and following customer feedback we have identified the need for an earlier arrival time in Northampton.

“From October 31 the current 07:59 service 88, will leave Towcester at 07:30 arriving 08:18 in Northampton for connections to the college.”

Although it is an amendment from October 31, it will be a welcome relief to parents and students relying on the service, who have also now been told that the evening times will be reviewed too.

Towcester bus times changed by Stagecoach after concerns of college students arriving late