Dear All,
We are very happy to announce that BLOC registrations for the coming year are now open, despite the issues and turbulence we have experienced in the last weeks, which we will explain in detail below.
Please create an account on https://bloc.vectare.co.uk to sign up your children to BLOC. After creating the account you can create your children as passengers within that account. Finally you can then book your journeys. Please note that if you are on pupil premium you will need to email info@blocbus.org after creating the passengers, as we can then classify them accordingly to adjust the charges.
Journeys can be booked as before and bookings are now open for full-time and part-time users. People on split arrangements can book full-time and part-time journeys across multiple routes.
Direct Debits are still in the process of being configured and you will receive an email once that has happened to set up your Direct Debit.
Please note that despite our best efforts the system is new, so if you spot any issues please let us know at info@blocbus.org .
Update on Bus Transport at Europa School
As the vast majority of you are aware, BLOC has faced a number of issues lately, none of which are of our own making. BLOC has faced an entire year with below standard bus service and now that school has ended, we are faced with something resembling a hostile takeover. The BLOC committee has been working flat out trying to resolve these issues so that everyone may register their children on the buses and enjoy what is left of their summer. We thank you for your continued patience while we sort these out.
As you know, Jon Alcantara, who runs Culham Bus Club, recently added BLOC routes to his bus programme. He did this without consulting BLOC, and in so doing caused a huge amount of panic and confusion for all of us. His reasons for doing this, though not particularly clear and transparent, seem to be motivated by the need to provide students with a reliable service (which is reasonable) and save Charlton Buses from collapse (which is not our responsibility, but given the circumstances, understandable). Bus service in Oxford is not cheap, as we found out for ourselves when we explored other options for BLOC. Charlton Buses remains one of the only viable options, but only if they can provide the service we require, and unfortunately this has fallen short recently and particularly in the last year on bus 14. We understand that Jon’s hasty announcement was spurred in part by the fact that his children will leave Europa in the coming years, and he wants to make sure that by the time he walks away from Bus Club, bus provision will be in safe hands. That said, we also believe that his decision was also made based on a fair amount of misinformation.
Regardless of his motivations and approach, Jon’s plans do highlight a number of issues that make sense. Most of us can agree (I hope) that it makes more sense for a single entity to run the entire programme for Europa. The school made it clear that it endorses this approach, in particular if they accept to take on some small level of involvement.
It is with this spirit of collaboration (not to mention the need to quell the hysteria) that BLOC met with Bus Club in order to arrive at an amenable solution. Prior to our meeting, BLOC drafted a set of the following proposals:
1. Vectare Management
Jon had assumed that BLOC was not interested in Vectare. In fact, prior to his announcement on July 11th, BLOC had already signed up to Vectare (https://bloc.vectare.co.uk). However, unlike Jon’s proposal, we believe that management of the bus system should not rest solely with Vectare and Charlton. We believe that it is essential to maintain some form of school and parent representation to handle day-to-day issues, complaints, and specific requests. This ensures that we retain a direct link to the school community and do not delegate full control to private or for-profit companies that may not be responsive to individual concerns.
Therefore, we propose to include school and parent representatives in a small governing body to provide oversight on safeguarding and due diligence matters and we hope to work with the PTA on this. This arrangement would maintain an essential connection with the school community while allowing Vectare to handle the operational aspects efficiently.
2. Merger of BLOC and Bus Club
We support the merger of the BLOC and Bus Club operations, as it presents a logical step towards the unified and streamlined management of the school’s transport services. This merger will also address the leadership gap in Bus Club following Jon’s departure. However, the merger should not be a simple absorption of one group into the other, but rather the creation of a new, collaborative entity.
The proposal of what the entity could look like will be presented at the AGM following the consultation with all stakeholders.
3. Transition Period
We propose to implement this merger and launch the unified system over the next school year. This allows sufficient time for preparation and proper planning. There is not enough time to complete all necessary steps before the upcoming school year.
We also believe that there may be some apprehension on behalf of many parents regarding Jon’s motives for a single entity and the approach he took to achieve his goal. We believe that the transition will allow Jon the opportunity to set the record straight and allow him sufficient time to withdraw from the bus management, as he intends to do. He acknowledges that his bulldozing approach was poorly thought out, and he recognises that many parents need to be reassured.
During the transition period, both BLOC and Bus Club will continue running their current routes. BLOC will proceed with the immediate adoption of Vectare, as the system is ready to go. For this to happen, Jon has agreed to withdraw his Vectare proposal and allow BLOC to operate its routes independently. Throughout this year, preparations will be made to dissolve both Bus Club and BLOC in accordance with their respective constitutions.
4. BLOC’s Reserves
BLOC’s financial reserves, which are considerably greater than Bus Club’s, will be partially used to subsidize the 2025/2026 fees. We are currently looking into this in order to meet Jon’s substantially lower fees. These have naturally attracted peoples’ attention, but were based on inexact usage numbers and the removal of one bus, which would have left some people without a seat. The decision on how to use the rest of BLOC’s reserves will be made by BLOC’s users at the AGM. These reserves, for example, could be used to pay for bus fees or be transferred to the new entity.
5. Routes and Providers
We support Charlton as the main bus provider, as this will allow us to keep bus prices to a minimum. The school is also very keen to maintain prices at a level affordable for all, as higher fees will automatically price some families out of the bus service. However, we strongly advocate for maintaining Route 14. The school’s student population is growing, and Routes 2 and 11 are already at capacity. We must also respond to parents’ concerns about long journey times, especially for those living at the end of the current routes.
BLOC had voted to pass Route 14 onto Grayline. Unfortunately, the events of the past week have complicated matters tremendously. By taking on Grayline, the fees increased substantially, especially in comparison with those offered by Bus Club. After careful consideration and assurances from Penny that she will maintain current prices until January 2026 and that she will take a far more proactive role in the running of all buses, we have decided to not offer Route 14 to Grayline. However, we have informed Penny that if by half-term, she demonstrates that she is unable to deliver, she will lose that route.
As a result of Jon’s Bus Club offer, we recognise that many parents have been attracted to some of the changes made to his actual routes. We are open to discussions about these changes, but a vote must be completed as we need to have the whole route’s approval. We may also have to incorporate additional Bus Club stops into our routes.
6. Fees
Costs will be shared equally among all users, regardless of route or distance from the school. There will be no differentiation in fees based on individual bus stops.
7. Our Approach
We reject the business-first model proposed by Jon. This is not a commercial venture. This is a vital service for the children at Europa School. We are committed to a non-profit, community-led structure that puts the users’ needs at the forefront, while ensuring reliable, safe, and affordable transport for all.
We also wish to remind everyone that we are working hard with Vectare to get the system up and running. It is possible now to open an account. For those worried about being charged twice (by BLOC and Bus Club), Jon will be removing his conflicting routes, but parents can also cancel the direct debit with their bank.
Please note that no changes to BLOC will be implemented before a proper consultation with all users, and this will happen at the AGM in September/October. There are still many details that need to be discussed and agreed upon with Jon and the school. Many of these will be discussed in September, after all parties have had time to rest and enjoy the remainder of their summer. This applies in particular to what is left of the BLOC committee. As you can imagine, this has been an incredibly stressful period for us and we need to switch off to be able to start working on this again in September.
Thank you for your continued patience, we wish you all a terrific summer.
Kind Regards,
BLOC Committee
Claudia Spadoni
Bota Godwin
Marianne Bergeron