Time for political action for failing student transport.

Time for political action for failing student transport.

A new poll by Ouders & Onderwijs shows that many parents are still unhappy with the transport of their children to special education. Of the 234 parents surveyed, 48% say that student transport is not well arranged. Most complaints are about long travel times, changing drivers, and crowded taxis.

This is the third time Ouders & Onderwijs has done this research. In the latest results, 42% of parents see no improvement. Even though student transport has been talked about a lot in education and politics. Twenty-three percent of parents even think that the problems have grown worse in the past two years.

Long travel time, little help or no student transport

The complaints parents give now match the picture Ouders & Onderwijs already had. This school year, many complaints come in again. Children spend hours a day in a van, there is often little help, and the quality of the transport is not good enough. Also, more and more parents are not allowed to use student transport because of new rules from the municipality.

Big impact on parents

Parents face the effects of failing student transport. Mother Marian Keuning explains: “The unrest in taxi transport causes extra stress and uncertainty, which takes a lot of time and negative attention during the week. I don’t think policy makers and implementers are fully aware of this.” The choices the municipality makes about transport make it harder for her child: “The fact that coaches are now being used is of course crazy. The children are not moved to special education for nothing; where classes are smaller, there is more knowledge of the problems, and more structure is offered.”

Lobke Vlaming, director of Ouders & Onderwijs, says: “This poll shows again that the system does not work well. Municipalities are responsible for transport but give execution to companies. They often do not do their work in a child-friendly way. Parents are angry and sad when they see their child spending hours a day in a van. It is time for national politics to do something.”

Petition for better student transport

Parent Jethro Geelen also wants political action for student transport and has started a petition: Our Children Are Not A Package! Arrange Student Transport Nationally And Kindly. He asks for national rules for travel time, quality, and fixed drivers. Ouders & Onderwijs supports this petition and calls on everyone to sign it.

Join the conversation!

Do you want to talk about student transport? You can. We have formed a focus group of parents on this topic. Interested? Contact us through our advice point.

You can also join the conversation about all education topics. In the Landelijk Ouderpanel, we ask parents their opinions in short online polls. Do you have an opinion about school and education? Sign up now for the Landelijk Ouderpanel. Not convinced yet? With the poll results, we raise attention to parents’ opinions and improve available information and help. More than 9,500 parents already participate. And: the more parents, the louder our voice!