Parents said a review of the decision to scrap a home to school transport scheme will take too long and they remain "in the dark" about how their children will get to school from September.

Oxfordshire County Council has been scrapping the Spare Seats Scheme - which allows hundreds of children not eligible for free home to school transport to pay for seats on buses where there is space.

It said it is no longer cost-effective but the decision has drawn a backlash from parents and last week cabinet voted unanimously voted to review that decision.

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But Asha Gill, has a daughter at Marlborough School in Woodstock, said they were running out of time as their replacement service from a commercial provider is also now ending.

She said: "We were thrown off the Spare Seats Scheme last year and cabinet's solution was a private service which has run for a year only to come to a halt at the end of this month.

"We got a deadline just before half term which has given us no time because school is finishing. Our children are stranded."

Teacher and parent Ruth Trevitt said the "current, efficient" scheme in south Oxfordshire which offers spare seats to pupils from schools including Larkmead, John Mason, St Birinus, Didcot Girls and Europa is also being scrapped.

She said: "We're losing the spare seats but there's also a bus club at Europa School run by parents on a voluntary basis which was previously tendered jointly with OCC so that it could put up bigger buses and more routes.

"Because OCC don't want to do that anymore that provision will be lost as well as the spare seats. And this in spite of the fact that having more people on the bus means that the money we as parents pay subsidises the OCC costs. 

"So at a council meeting today they have increased costs for the transport but are carrying less students!"

She added: "John Howson's [council cabinet member for children, young people and schools] motivation is that all students should only be able to go to their nearest school.

"This would destroy parental choice and directly attacks the European language provision at Europa School which currently provides immersive language education to primary and secondary students living near nodes in Oxford, Wantage and Abingdon."

Conservative leader Eddie Reeves, who proposed last week's motion to review cutting the scheme, said: "LibDem-run Oxfordshire County Council has failed to find a sustainable solution to several schools facing similar challenges, among them the Marlborough School.

"There are, however, others such as the Chipping Norton School and the Europa School who have been in touch with me in recent days.

"Residents of Chinnor, too, now seemingly face the same difficulty."  

He said the council is "failing to support a 30-year policy that is socially, financially and environmentally equitable" and "creating real anguish for families across Oxfordshire".

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Oxfordshire County Council said the spare seats scheme was cut on certain routes last year because of a drop in numbers of pupils who qualify for free travel.

A spokesperson said: "In cases where there are insufficient students eligible for statutory school transport, we explore opportunities for commercial transport operators to run the service instead of Oxfordshire County Council."

He added: "It is not the case that all spare seat routes withdrawn in all villages are being replaced by commercial providers.

"The county council is still in discussions with third parties and will be communicating the outcome with parents over the next few weeks."