Parents and education leave expert group on student transport.

Parents and education leave expert group on student transport.

Ouders & Onderwijs leaves the focus group on student transport of the Association of Dutch Municipalities. There is no trust that improvements can be made this way. The process is too slow to come to real solutions for the serious problems with student transport.

Passing The Buck

For years children have been picked up late or even completely forgotten. Ouders & Onderwijs hoped that with this consultation, set up by the Association of Dutch Municipalities, a solution would come for these problems. Lobke Vlaming, director of Ouders & Onderwijs: ‘They do not work on structural solutions in the expertise group of VNG. It is a brochure here and a manual there. We have no trust that we can make real improvements this way. So we better spend our time differently. What then? The solution must come from politics. Nationally and in the municipalities. We will work hard on that with good courage.’

Lobke Vlaming spoke about this decision on NOS Radio 1 News. Listen to the fragment.

Parents Raise The Alarm

Do you as a parent experience problems with student transport? Too long travel time, many different drivers and unsafe situations in the vans? This step-by-step plan can help you as a parent to bring the problems to the attention of among others the municipality.

In spring 2022 Ouders & Onderwijs published a report on student transport. It showed there were big problems. On October 12, 2022 a roundtable discussion took place in the House of Representatives about the problems in student transport.

More Appreciation For Drivers

Lobke Vlaming stresses the importance of more appreciation for drivers in student transport. ‘The drivers must get more appreciation. They are responsible for vulnerable children during the ride’. It is also difficult for these drivers to get a full income here. ‘As a driver of pupils you often can only work a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon’, Vlaming explains.