![\"Co](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770020412_645_IB4J2HOQQZFMHCIKF5SFB74MWY.png\")
<\/a>![\"Live:](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770020413_319_VBQLP3W65NPO5KV7MKTOLJ2HNU.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIn December, the Press Association revealed that the EA is paying out up to \u00a383 per mile to taxi firms.<\/p>\n
It was also revealed that more than \u00a320 million was paid out to just five taxi operators in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
The EA, which delivers school services in the region, is seeking a series of savings as it attempts to plug a \u00a3300 million shortfall in its budget.<\/p>\n
An EA statement said: \u201cThe absence of local provision for (Send) pupils has both a financial cost for EA, and, more importantly, a personal cost for pupils who have to face longer journeys than should be necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt present, only 26% of NI mainstream schools provide specialist Send classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil that number is significantly increased, too many children will continue to be educated outside their own communities, away from family and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd transport will be required to ensure they don\u2019t miss out on school.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EA said it seeks to use Translink services or its own buses when available.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/QTH7QNROSZKKHMQSAKK36QNIJE.jpg\")
The EA has said it needs more mainstream schools to provide places for SEN children (Danny Lawson\/PA) <\/p>\n
It also said it was \u201ccommitted\u201d to achieving savings in its taxi bill and had made a request to taxi operators for a voluntary reduction in bills.<\/p>\n
The statement added: \u201cWe have so far agreed commitments from operators which amount to a total saving of \u00a3918,000 by the end of this financial year.<\/p>\n
\u201cEngagement with taxi operators is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n
It said contracts with taxi operators would be monitored and reviewed ahead of the 2026\/27 academic year.<\/p>\n
The statement added: \u201cEA confirmed last month that the highest taxi rate it is being charged equates to \u00a383 per mile pro rata.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis case relates to a short journey of less than a mile, costing some \u00a350 a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor clarity, the rate was the lowest of six bids received from taxi operators.<\/p>\n
\u201cContracts as a rule are awarded to the lowest bids, providing the operator meets all compliance requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale Hanna, the EA\u2019s chief operations officer, said: \u201cWe will continue to engage with taxi operators to secure more savings and bear down on costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are grateful to all those operators who are working with us constructively.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it must be emphasised that a significant proportion of the increase in taxi costs is connected to the shortfall in SEN places.<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther specialist provision classes in mainstream schools are an absolute necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The EA said it had recently invited 300 mainstream schools from areas of highest Send placement need to engagement sessions on specialist provision.<\/p>\n
It said around 90 of the schools attended.<\/p>\n
It also said that a child\u2019s statutory Send assessment will often specify a home-to-school transport requirement \u2013 and in some cases a recommendation is made for a child to be on their own when transported.<\/p>\n
It said for some children with disabilities, modified transport for wheelchair users may be required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Savings of close to \u00a31 million have been agreed with taxi firms which provide school transport provision in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":736915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5011],"tags":[218543,2266,110004,1144,218544,95313,83169,16,7913,15],"class_list":["post-736914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-northern-ireland","tag-dale-hanna","tag-education","tag-education-authority","tag-northern-ireland","tag-school-transport","tag-special-educational-needs","tag-translink","tag-uk","tag-ulster","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116000065224196639","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}