Work agenda student transport: what is being worked on?.

Work agenda student transport: what is being worked on?.

Yesterday secretary of state Tielen sent a letter to the house of representatives about the work agenda student transport. Ouders & Onderwijs works together with Leerlingenbelang-VSO LBVSO, municipalities, carriers, schools and other organizations on this agenda.

The goal is that every child who cannot go to school independently can count on safe and tailored student transport, regardless of the region.

What is the work agenda student transport?

Since early 2026 the ministry of education, culture and science OCW has been working on the work agenda student transport. The work agenda was originally promised by the secretary of state after talks with Ouders & Onderwijs, LBVSO, VNG, and the sector council GO.

The work agenda focuses on three important points:

• Good agreements: Parents, students, schools and municipalities must consult on time about transport to school.
• Quality: Work is being done on national guidelines for good and tailored student transport.
• Monitoring: Research is being done on how the quality and implementation of student transport can be better made visible.

A daily problem for many families

Parents have told us for years about rides that take too long, ever changing drivers and children who arrive late or overstimulated in the classroom. Because of this, children miss lessons and parents sometimes have to work less because they cannot count on the transport.

The secretary of state speaks in her letter about ‘harrowing situations’. She thereby acknowledges the problems parents have been experiencing for a long time.

What is in the latest letter?

The work agenda consists of three parts:

• Include transport in the school choice. There will be clear agreements about who when talks to parents about transport. We would like parents and students to be able to include the impact of travel(time) in the choice for a school.
• A quality framework. Work is being done on national guidelines for good student transport. This includes for example maximum travel time, safety, guidance during the trip, communication with parents and handling complaints.
• Better insight into the problems. There is not yet a complete national picture of the problems with student transport. Therefore work is being done on better information about for example travel times, rides that are late and complaints.

In addition, municipalities receive support to buy transport better and make and monitor better agreements with carriers.

What does this mean now for parents?

In the short term this means unfortunately little. The letter does show that OCW together with us, LBVSO and the other parties involved actively work on improvement. The agreements should be ready by the end of 2027.

Do you as a parent now have problems with the transport of your child? Contact our free advice point. We are happy to help you further.

This is what Ouders & Onderwijs stands for

Ouders & Onderwijs finds it important that student transport gets the attention it deserves. At the table we focus on three points:

• Clear standards that give parents support. National agreements on a quality framework must apply in every municipality and really offer parents certainty. Only non-binding guidelines are not enough.
• No longer wait than necessary. Agreements that are ready earlier, for example about discussing transport during school choice, must be implemented as soon as possible.
• Inclusive education must not be at the expense of transport. The cabinet expects that children through inclusive education can more often go to school closer to home. But that can only happen if there is a suitable school place nearby. Every child must be able to count on tailored student transport, now and in the future.

Since early 2026 OCW works together with Ouders and Onderwijs, Leerlingenbelang- VSO LBVSO, the association of Dutch municipalities VNG, sector council Specialized Education, association for Target Group Transport Netherlands VDVN, Royal Dutch Transport KNV and overarching network Partnership Tailored Education ONSwv on setting up and carrying out the work agenda student transport.