by Trevor Bevins, Local Democracy Reporter.
Questions are being asked about Dorset Council’s annual £18.5million budget to take children with additional needs to and from school.
A breakdown show some taxi firms and bus operators being paid staggering sums – one company taking over £1.7million and two being paid over £1.2m over a year.
Transport costs for SEND pupils have increased over four years by around 77per cent from just over £10million a year.
Former Shaftesbury town councillor Karen Tippins is asking whether there has been proper scrutiny of the rising figures by Dorset Council and if adequate steps are being taken to control them.
The authority has tried, in the past, to rationalise the transport system for SEND pupils by suggesting common pick-up points for pupils living relatively close to each other and rationalising routes for taxis and buses – but in many cases there has been push-back from parents, preferring to keep what for many amounts to a individual taxi service for school trips.
Said Ms Tippins “What struck me most is not the £18.5 million annual cost, but the contrast between traditional transport costs and Personal Travel Budgets * (see note).
“Dorset Council’s own figures show that conventional SEND transport costs around £16,000 per pupil, whereas Personal Travel Budgets have averaged around £5,273 per pupil. At the same time, the Council has confirmed there are still 362 single-occupancy routes.”
She says that raises a legitimate question about whether all reasonable opportunities to reduce costs have been explored, particularly given the national debate about councils using alternative arrangements to reduce reliance on taxis and minibuses.
“For me, the key issue is transparency and scrutiny. SEND pupils must receive appropriate support, but when transport expenditure has increased by around 77% in four years, taxpayers are entitled to understand what is driving those costs and what options are being considered to manage them.”
A Freedom of Information request made by her shows that Dorset Council has over 1,030 SEND transport routes currently operated – with 362 classed as single occupancy SEND routes at the end of March 2026.
The figures show the average annual cost per SEND transport route is £16,372 for 2025-26, with the highest annual cost for an individual SEND transport route at £75,710.
In response to the information request Dorset Council said its SEND Travel Reviewing Team had achieved “significant savings and cost avoidance” and that councillors have discussed the issue of SEND transport costs many times.
For the academic year 2024/ 2025 £490,494.86 is attributed to what the council classes as cost savings, and £132,842.38 to what it describes as cost avoidance, while in the 2025/ 2026 academic year so far £201,709.19 is attributed to cost savings, and £229,574.69 to cost avoidance.
The council response lists a number of meetings when SEND transport provision was discussed including a report in September 2025 which was taken as an exempt item because it contained confidential financial information.
A Personal Travel Budget is a sum of money provided by a council to allow families to organise their own school travel arrangements for an eligible child. It gives parents flexibility, choice, and control over how their child gets to school.
The council has produced a full list of payments made in the last financial year to private companies and individuals for SEND transport –
24×7 Ltd £1,266,416.82
A L Bennetts Transport Ltd £50,170.54
A&O Taxi £60,932.58
AAA Cars (Southern) Ltd £338,931.88
ACE TAXIS £28,960.00
AP Swanage Taxis Ltd £55,473.55
Ariel Taxi Association £29,657.66
Ascent Private Hire £198,352.68
Bakers Coaches £8,053.60
Beeline Taxis £144,080.68
Bluebird Coaches (Weymouth) Ltd £8,397.01
Colehill & Wimborne Radio Cabs £169,976.74
Craigs Taxis £20,309.70
D P Taxis £17,832.89
D&E Taxis (Dorset) Ltd £400,897.85
Damo’s Taxis £118,232.92
Daniel White £46,496.89
Dial a Cab – Poole £248,954.38
Disabled Transport Services £118,608.92
DNA Travel Solutions £61,248.53
Dorset (Ealing) Community Transport £758,419.00
Dorset Airport Cabs Ltd £13,715.00
Dorset Carriages £150,644.24
Dorset Transfers & Contracts £136,623.15
Dorset Transport Ltd £79,833.47
Double One Limited £47,754.75
Dukes Taxi (Purbeck) £4,990.00
Elite Taxis (Dorset) £101,204.48
Expresso Taxis £17,299.00
First Hampshire & Dorset Ltd £15,469.27
G.S.C.Ltd – Damory £10,680.12
Go Eco Cabs £80,279.69
Grosvenor Travel £35,966.71
Gursel Cars £159,508.95
I@Cars Ltd £41,015.50
JK Transport Solutions Ltd £86,324.13
Joe’s Black Cab Company Ltd £21,139.10
JS Travel Ltd £318,859.13
Kens Kabs £24,851.36
Kings Kabs Ltd (Wareham) £2,990.00
Langside School – SEND £17,637.24
M & R Goodman Ltd £27,408.80
Maia Executive Travel £66,820.03
Mountjoy School – SEN £43,697.01
Neil’s Taxi £22,470.70
Newbi Taxis £94,520.74
North Dorset Carriers £12,583.38
Oakwood Taxis £355,317.95
P & D Contracts £79,869.91
Paragon Travel PHC Ltd £365,577.93
Pats Cabs £14,940.00
PRC Streamline Taxis £133,742.95
Prime Cabs SR Ltd £82,839.09
Quay Cars (Swanage) £37,735.00
Rayford Ltd T/A Radio Cabs £235,798.97
Richards Taxis £17,376.00
Riverside Travel (Dorset) Ltd £1,194,671.82
Route 45 Ltd £46,845.69
Shaftesbury Taxis (VIP Travel) £27,837.83
Sharpe Executive Travel £25,890.80
Smooth Cabs Ltd T/A Smooth Drive £182,148.81
South West Coaches Ltd £271,433.44
Swanage & Purbeck Taxi £21,364.00
T and S Hann Private Hire £33,920.10
Target Taxis South West £147,083.38
Taxi4You Mere £159,619.79
Taylor Coach Travel Ltd £1,502.30
Tina Turner Contracts £178,319.60
TN CARS £1,720,070.25
Top Cab Ltd £36,821.00
Tutum Travel £24,284.60
UNITED TAXIS Ltd £45,339.06
Vale Coaches £19,866.66
VALE Transport – T/A A2B & Stags £315,380.31
Wades Private Hire Ltd £46,842.95
Walkers Travel £82,696.25
Wessex Coaches £59,935.30
Wessex Executive Coaches Ltd T/A Wessex Coaches £649.05
Weyline Cars Ltd £681,567.74
YMT Sales £221,024.47
Zaza Cars £308,052.36
