PHTM reported on 19 October 2026 that Girlington Private Hire had been sent a letter on 16 October 2026 ending its remaining school transport contracts with Bradford Council. The firm is said to have held about 300 school runs, including work for children with special educational needs and disabilities. In a list of questions to the council later in the same report, the figure given is about 200 runs. The difference is not explained.
How the work was won
Other local operators had, according to that report, already warned the council when the contracts were awarded at the start of this school year. They believed the bids were well below the usual rates, and too low for a safe, reliable service. The contracts were still awarded.
The concerns listed since term began are late collections and arrivals, safeguarding worries involving vulnerable children, changes of driver where a familiar driver and a set routine matter, about 20 runs handed back because the agreed price would not cover the work, and some individual contracts ended before this letter. None of that has been independently verified, and the council has not confirmed the grounds for ending what remains.
One operator, speaking without being named, said: "The council was made aware that the prices being offered were extremely low and that there were concerns about whether the work could be managed at those rates. Other operators raised concerns at the time, yet the contracts continued to be awarded. Now all the runs are being terminated, drivers could be left facing the consequences of decisions they had no control over."
What is still open
No public statement from Bradford Council, and none from the firm, was found that confirms the letter or the number of runs. Drivers, passenger escorts and families are left without an official account of what happens next. Both the council and the firm should have the chance to reply.
Questions are also raised for NHS transport commissioners and others who use the firm. Wider service claims are described as unverified, with no connection established to the school contracts.
Bradford Council's passenger transport service arranges home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs through taxi partners, with a home-based escort team. The council records that the service carries over 1,800 special needs and vulnerable children and adults twice a day, more than 724,000 movements a year. The page does not name Girlington Private Hire, and it does not mention this letter.