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, the transport service will be provided SUBJECT TO AVAILABLE 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. If 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 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 school and it will be the responsibility of the parent to pick up the student from school.
b) Please note that the bus supervisors will not be allowed to leave the bus except in emergency cases. Under no circumstances 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.
The buses will depart at the designated time from 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 of the bus in the morning, who in turn will hand 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 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, except for 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 safety 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/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 monthly depending on the distance of the student location from the school according to the price table. Please refer to the bus fee document. Fees 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 case a child has paid for the transportation service, and they opt 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 other school sponsored activities. Further, if such an activity should last longer than the school sponsored activity then the parent(s) will have to make other 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 then refund will be for the months of November onward ONLY. Any withdrawal requests must be emailed to the coordinator.
The transport charges for excursions will be in accordance with the circulars from the school on a case-by-case basis.
ECA Buses
Some buses may be able to run after ECAs to designated areas where there are 12 or more applications received.
I agree to the terms of the policy and accept responsibility for complying with the relevant conditions above.
