Worried council leaders fear the rising cost of diesel could hit home to school transport for thousands of Norfolk schoolchildren - and could add even more to the £73m bill to get them to and from school.
The cost of diesel hit more than £2 per litre on forecourts last week, prompting warnings from coach operators that it could have to cancel some of the routes it runs for Norfolk County Council to get children to and from the classroom without extra help.
The council currently pays for about 19,000 schoolchildren to get to school and expects to have paid £73m by the end of this financial year.
About £20m of that is to transport children in mainstream education, but some £50m is for children with special educational needs, who often have to travel lengthy distances to get to the most suitable schools for their needs.
The council has a statutory duty to provide free travel to their nearest suitable school for eligible children aged five to 16.
There are also some students aged over 16 for whom the council provides subsidised transport, depending on their eligibility.
Charles Sanders, who owns Sanders Coaches, warned rising diesel costs will add more than £500,000 a year to his company's costs.
He warned that could mean the county council will need to pay more to cover costs of home to school transport when contracts are up for renegotiation.
The council also agrees contracts with taxi drivers to get youngsters who are unable to travel independently to school and the rising fuel costs are likely to mean the cost of those also goes up.
Some of the longest taxi journeys in the county include round trips of 100 miles from the Mundford area to near Sea Palling, and from Aylsham to Stowmarket in Suffolk.
Tom Dickerson, Reform's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “This is a national issue, and I share the concerns being raised by bus operators. While we do receive government funding to support our tendered bus services, I want to explore our options and will be meeting with council officers to discuss whether there is more we can do.”
At a meeting of the council's cabinet this week, Green group leader Maxine Webb raised the issue and urged Mr Dickerson to meet operators to discuss the issue.
Officers have said the costs have increased "significantly" over the past seven years - driven by rising and more complex demand, plus inflation.
The council has been trying to bring the bill down through more efficient planning, encouraging children to make their own way to school if appropriate and reprocuring the contracts for trips.
In the Reform administration's budget proposals, as it looks to plug a £36m funding gap, it will be consulting over charging parents more in contributions for post 16 transport.
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