The estate is within the official “walking distance” to school, so that a bus cannot be provided by the education authority.

First the parents engaged a small bus to carry thirty to forty children, but now the number of youngsters has increased to eighty, and a double-decker is needed.

The bus makes five trips a day – two in the morning to fetch and return the children, and three in the afternoon because infants and juniors finish at different times.

Each parent pays half a crown a week for each child using the bus, and five of the mothers act as voluntary collectors.

The money is handed to Mrs. Edith Reynolds, who acts as treasurer and pays for the bus.

Cost of the bus is ten guineas a week, says Mrs. Reynolds, whose six-year-old daughter Linda is one of the regular passengers.

No Ride, No Fare

“We keep a week’s payment in hand in case of epidemics, because if the children do not use the bus, they do not have to pay.”

This week, for example, the number of young passengers was less than usual because of some cases of chicken pox.

Parents on Tollbar Estate regard their bus scheme as a blessing, for it ensures their children safe travel through the busy Rushden streets at a cost of only three-halfpence a journey.

Newton Road is “crammed” and Alfred Street “filled to the limit.”