Petition students transport offered: our children are not parcels.

Petition students transport offered: our children are not parcels.

In the House of Representatives, the petition 'Our Children Are Not Packages' was offered on January 27. With more than 6,000 signatures, parents, education professionals, and others ask for attention for the structural problems in student transport.

National flash measurements by the research agency Oberon (2024, 2025) show that a large part of the students in special education often arrives late at school, has a long journey, or starts the school day overstimulated. These effects are often invisible but affect learning performance, classroom calm, and children’s well-being.

“Good education also means that a child comes to school on time and without stress,” says Lisa Westerveld (GL/PvdA).

Daily impact made visible

To make these hidden effects clear, today the Impact Monitor Student Transport is presented to Members of Parliament. This online monitor shows, based on calculated averages from public research, what failing student transport means since the school year started. It shows in the number of missed lessons, extra travel time, and disruption of education.

‘Our Children Are Not Packages’

During the presentation, a metaphor was used: ‘packages with shipping labels.’ This makes clear how children in the system are sometimes treated like packages in a logistic system that must be handled as efficiently as possible. While these are vulnerable students with specific needs.

“The voice of the students must be heard in the House of Representatives,” says Sandra Beckerman (SP)

Call to politics

The petition initiators call on Members of Parliament and the cabinet to:

• Take control to recognize the problem nationwide
• Investigate what hidden costs (such as extra support, missed school time, and parents missing work) are related to failing student transport.
• Give parents more say in forming better policy about student transport.
• Legally link student transport to education to uphold the right to education.

“The numbers in the monitor are not exact counts, but do show the scale of the problem,” says petition initiator Jethro Geelen.