A Lowestoft mother has labelled school transport "a total mess" after having to arrange her own journeys more than a fortnight into the new term.
It comes after a number of taxi firms cancelled their contracts with Suffolk County Council (SCC) amid rising fuel bills and staff shortages.
Prior to the start of term on September 5, 39 contracts were handed back, affecting an estimated 120 children and young people.
A number of these children have SEND (special education needs and disabilities), including six-year-old Connie Bond from Lowestoft.
Her mother Laura Bond was only told about her daughter's place at Somerleyton Primary School on August 19 and, despite having a transport application approved on August 30, the 38-year-old says she is still having to rely on lifts from friends and public transport to get her daughter to and from school.
She said: "The school transport system is a total mess.
"They've told me it might take 20 days or longer to sort it out.
"I'm having to get a lift in the morning from my friend, which is making her late for work.
"They said I'd made the application late and it should have been done by May 31, but how could I have when we only found about about her place in August?
"Somerleyton was the only school to get back to us about her place because of her special educational needs."
To collect her daughter, who has Autism spectrum disorder, Miss Bond says she needs to get a train from Lowestoft at 1.45pm, then spend over an hour waiting in Somerleyton before her daughter leaves school and wait another hour to get a train home, returning to Lowestoft at 5pm.
Rachel Hood, cabinet member for education, SEND and skills at Suffolk County Council, said: “This is an unprecedented situation and we continue to do everything we can to find replacement travel for children and young people.
“It has been hugely frustrating for those families affected, especially during the first week of a new school year.
"We are now meeting with taxi companies to understand how best we avoid this happening again, while recognising the pressures they currently face.”
Suffolk County Council now says it has managed to reduce the number of children affected to 18 as of last week.
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