Residents have been left angered after cabinet voted to make families pay for the formerly free post 16 education transport.

Conwy County Borough Council (CCBC) cabinet voted, during a meeting on Tuesday, in favour of charging for the previously free post 16 educational transport service.

Scrapping the free service entirely could have saved Conwy council £420,000 but cabinet voted the transport service would continue but with a fee of £80 a term.

Councillor Garffild Lloyd Lewis, cabinet member for education, said this charge was projected to bring in an income of £276,000.

Currently 1,152 post-16 learners get free school transport under the council’s home to school transport policy -730 of which attend Coleg Llandrillo or other further education colleges; and 422 of the students attend sixth form provision in secondary schools in Conwy or other counties.

A Coleg Llandrillo spokesperson said they were "disappointed" by the decision and it was set to affect a large number of students.

The spokesperson said: "A significant number of learners attending Coleg Llandrillo will be affected by Conwy County Borough Council's recent decision to introduce charging for post-16 educational transport.

"Transport is crucial in enabling learners to make choices which allow them to train for their future career and provides an opportunity for social mobility.

"We are disappointed with the decision and will be working with Conwy County Borough Council to ensure that appropriate financial support is provided to learners who cannot afford the new transport cost so that they can come to Coleg Llandrillo."

Education and skills overview and scrutiny committee chairperson Julie Fallon said she was worried about how this would affect children who currently benefit from the service.

Cllr Fallon, on Facebook, said: "I have tried my best to highlight why I and the majority of members of the education scrutiny committee were against this but cabinet decided the financial pressures were too much to justify the provision.

"I really worry that this is going to put real pressure on families who are already struggling to make ends meet.

"This is on top of a vote during today’s Cabinet to possibly raise council tax by 11.6 per cent."

Readers took to social media last week following the decision to express their views on the matter.

One reader said without the free transport service, it would make it extremely hard for her daughter to keep making it to college on time.

Angharad Hicks said: "My daughter attends Colleg Llandrillo in Rhos, and we live in a rural village near Abergele. Public transport doesn't start from here until 9.30am, so how on earth is she meant to get to Old Colwyn to connect to the regular bus route?

"I'm working but single so only have one wage coming in, and the last bus to the village in the evening is at 3.45pm, so way before college even finishes."

CCBC cabinet member, cllr Louise Emery, said it was ridiculous to have a free service that was not means tested.

Cllr Emery said: “At the moment, if my children were 16 they could go to college for free, it’s ridiculous that that system is in place and that it was never means tested in the first place.

"We have to provide a charge. I shouldn’t be able to get my children to go to college for free when I can afford those charges.

"The people from the lowest income families have the Education Maintenance Allowance to help them out."