Dear Parents,
Starting in September 2009 the Roads and Authority (RTA) required all private schools in Dubai to offer transportation to and from school to their students in accordance with official guidelines.In order to comply with this we are committed to offering students a safe reliable and professional transportation service. Having reviewed several different companies we have selected the Arab Falcon Bus Rental, LLC company as our authorized transportation provider and have established a contract with them to ensure that they deliver acceptable standards on all the buses they provide.
Responsibilities of Arab Falcon Bus Rental, LLC and school
The bus company shall provide a transportation service to all students living within 60 Kilometers (37.2 miles) of the school, subject to a minimum of 12 children opting for bus service on a route.
The bus company will make every effort to pick up and drop off the child at their doorstep, but the school reserves the right to make consolidated pick up and drop off points.
The bus company shall determine the exact route and timings for pick up and drop off in cooperation with the school. However, it must be clearly understood that the first child to be picked up will not necessarily be the first to be dropped off.
The bus company will only use buses and drivers on our routes which have been authorized by the RTA for school transportation.
The bus company will ensure that its buses are both clean and safe.
The buses will be fitted with GPS tracking devices.
The buses will also be equipped with “Sleeping Child Check Button (Safety Button)” which ensures there is no child left behind in the bus.
To avoid penalizing other students who are on time, the bus driver WILL NOT WAIT for any child who is late beyond the designated pick up time.
The bus company has the right to alter routes, move students from one route to another, or change the designated pick up time after giving due notice of less than one week to affected students. **This will be subject to monitoring by the school.
The school shall provide a female bus supervisor on all buses.
In case of a change in residence, transport service will be provided Subject To Availability of seats on the new route and at appropriate cost.
As a rule the bus drivers are not allowed to make any stops at a gas station with the students on board. However, this will be allowed in case of an emergency situation with a child.
Neither the bus company nor the school will be responsible of the loss of any items left on the bus.
The bus company shall provide a transport coordinator to the school. This individual will directly handle concerns, complaints, and issues concerning bus transportation. In the event that an issue cannot be resolved directly with the bus company, the school’s transport coordinator will follow-up on the issue and try to achieve a resolution.
Responsibilities of Parents and Students
a) The parents are requested to bring the students to the pick-up point at least 5 minutes before the designated pick-up time of the bus, and also to be at the pick-up point at least 5 minutes before the designated drop-off time in order to avoid delay for the remainder of the students on the bus. Please note that the bus driver will not wait beyond the designated time. In case students below the age of 12 years, if there is no one at the drop off point with whom to leave the student then the student will stay on the bus as it continues its journey and the and the bus supervisor will seek to contact the parents to arrange an alternate drop off point. If all attempts fail to contact the parents, the student will be brought back to the school and it will be the responsibility of the parent to pick up the student from the school.
b) Please note that the bus supervisors will not be allowed to leave the bus except in emergency cases. Under no circumstance will the conductor escort a student from the bus to the front door of the student’s home. A parent or appointed guardian must escort the student from the bus to the front door of the student’s home. For students above the age of 12 years and whose parents have no objection to their child being dropped off without a parent or guardian receiving the student at the drop off point, a written request MUST be provided at the time of the bus service registration.
TThe buses will depart at the designated time from the school. Should a student miss the bus for any reason then it will be the responsibility of the parent(s) to come and pick the student up from school.
In case a student desires to be dropped off at another stop after school, whether on the same or different route then, he/she will be required to present a written request from the parent to the bus supervisor in the morning, this will then be handed it to the transport coordinator at the school for approval. The transport coordinator will confirm the request with the parent(s) and accommodate if possible. The student will be informed of the decision during the school day.
Parents must notify the school & bus company in writing of their desire to change to a different bus route at least two weeks in advance.
If a student is found to have caused damage to the bus or the property or belongings of a fellow student then, the parent(s) will be required to compensate adequately for the repair or replacement of the damaged item. The bus company will provide an incident report along with an invoice to be settled.
The students will refrain from eating and drinking on the bus, with the exception of water.
In accordance with the RTA guidelines, the school Principal may exclude any student from the school transport service in any of the following cases:
If a student causes the delay of a trip more than three times in one school year.
If a student violates any safety rule and endangers the lives of others during the trip.
If a student refuses to ride a bus from a pickup point approved by the school.
If a student leaves the bus before reaching his/her designated destination without prior approval or permission.
If a student continues to cause disturbance and more than three written complaints are filled against him/her during one school year.
All passengers on the bus must wear a seatbelt and the bus will not be able to continue the journey if this is not the case.
Fees
The parent(s) will pay the fees for the transportation service directly to the company in advance for each payment period.
The rates will be charged on a monthly basis depending on the distance of the student location from the school according to the price table. Please refer to bus fee document. Fee will not be prorated for any month.
The fees for the bus service are payable in two installments. 1st payment due before 20 August (four months of bus service), 2nd payment due before 15 December (six months of bus service).
The fees are payable in full for each installment, irrespective of any holiday during this time. This is because the total cost of providing the transportation service for the year has been averaged over a 10 month time frame.
In the case a child has paid for the transportation service and he/she opts for another school activity which is not sponsored by the school, then the child will be able to avail the transport service on the way back home but only if such an activity finishes before or in time with ether school sponsored activities. Further, if such an activity should last longer than the school sponsored activity then the parent(s) will have to make arrangements to pick up the student.
If the fees are not paid in advance at the start of the payment period, the child will not be permitted to use the service until they have been paid in full.
There will be no discount if any student opts to use the service only for few days of the month.
If a child withdraws from the service during the period he/she will be eligible for a refund of the fees for any month which have not been used, i.e. if the child withdraws in mid-October (REQUEST SHOULD BE EMAILED TO THE COORDINATOR), then refund will be for the months of November onward ONLY.
The transport charges for excursions will be in accordance with the circulars form the school on a case by case basis.
Important Points
Full month fee is applicable regardless of the start date of the month (August and July days are not charged).
100% refunds are applicable on “unused” months only, provided we receive written request via email. For instance, if refund is required for January, email should be sent in December.
Service will commence once we have received “full” term fee. NO PARTIAL PAYMENT WILL BE ACCEPTED.
We have only 2 terms: Term 1 (Sep to Dec) and Term 2 (Jan to Jun).
After-school activity (or Late) buses are limited to certain areas.
During Fridays OR in Ramadan there are no late buses.
Our commute is in the range of 60 minutes. For some areas it could reach 90 minutes if the area is quite far from school or we do not have enough applications from the given area.
Arab Falcon reserves the right to alter bus timings to accommodate new students or improve the efficiency of the overall routes for the school.
If for any reason, student is not using the bus please do inform the bus helper or email the coordinator BEFORE 10AM OF THE REQUESTED DATE AND ENSURE YOU RECEIVE RESPONSE FROM THEM. One of the main reasons of bus delays is waiting for a student who is not planning to use the bus.
Bus departure timings will also be communicated to the parents. Kindly ensure students get into the buses before the departure times.
If there is ANY change in bus schedule, please inform the coordinator immediately. For instance, if student signs up for extra class and will not require the regular bus.
Bus helpers always give missed calls before 5-10 minutes to alert arrival of buses.
Buses will not wait beyond the pickup time. In the afternoon, if guardian is not present to pick up the student at the designated time, student will be brought back to school and it is the responsibility of the guardian to pick up the student from the school. Applicable for students less than 12 years.
Our staff (drivers and helpers) have been trained to strictly follow the RTA guidelines. If you feel, this is not followed, please email your concern to the respective coordinator.
When invoice is issued, parent is liable to pay the full fee as indicated in the invoice. In the event of a cancellation for any month, the ‘Cancellation Form’ must be submitted before the start of the canceled month.
I agree to the terms of the policy and accept responsibility for complying with the relevant conditions above.
