The cost of using school transport is set to double for some pupils next year, parents have been warned.

A hike in the amount pre-16-year-old children are charged for transport from their home to schools outside their catchment area is one option Oxfordshire County Council is considering in an effort to recoup a £564,000 overspend in its transport budget.

Students aged over 16 will be charged more, regardless of where they study, but the change in charges will not affect those whose parents are in receipt of benefits.

Costs

It currently costs under 16s £120 a year -- or 63p a day -- to ferry them from home to school.

But if charges are increased this would rise to £221 a year -- or £1.16 a day.

Parents will be consulted before the changes come into effect in September next year.

Labour county councillor Brian Hodgson said: "The key problem is that the budget has overspent by £500,000 -- that's a big overspend on a big budget.

"And one of the things the executive is looking at is more or less doubling the charges for concessionary fares.

"I think this is very bad news indeed and should be avoided.

"It's essential the executive consults with parents, but they will have to decide how far to listen to these complaints."

The county council provides transport for about 12,273 pupils, with the majority making their own way to the classroom.

Transport is free for secondary school pupils living more than three miles and primary pupils living more than two miles outside their catchment area school.

Those living inside that distance are expected to make their way to school by foot or other means.

But a charge is levied on parents who want to send their children to schools in a different catchment areas.

Transport officials blame increasing contractual costs and inflation for a predicted overspend of £564,010 in a total budget of £12,464,500.

But Tory county councillor Tony Crabbe, executive member for schools, said: "This is a relatively small number -- most school transport is free.

Horrendous

"If we were to provide transport for everybody we would end up with a horrendous bill and people saying we will go to school in Oxford from Banbury."

The authority's policy-making executive has been warned that unless savings can be made, the risk of overspending in future years will remain a real possibility.

Other options open to the executive are charging parents the average daily economic cost of travel, the price of a commercial season ticket and county council-subsidised fares.