We need to manage school transportation services.
The student transportation model is being implemented in many localities throughout the province. However, this is still a spontaneous model without coordinated management from schools and local authorities.
Developing a shuttle bus model.
After the school bell rings, hundreds of students from Nghi Loc 2 High School (Nghi Loc district) flock to the small road to the left of the school gate. Here, nearly 10 motorbikes are regularly seen every day.shuttle busStudents from communes such as Nghi Hung, Nghi Thuan, Nghi Dong, Nghi Hoa... attend school.
These vehicles are provided by parents who directly arrange transportation for their children to and from school. Currently, more than 300 students at the school use this transportation service.
The school bus service model at Nghi Loc 2 High School was implemented based on practical needs. Currently, the school's catchment area is quite large, with some students living nearly 15 km from the school. This route poses many safety risks, especially sections crossing the N5 highway. To ensure their children's safety, many parents in the communes have directly contacted bus companies to hire buses to transport their children to school every day.
According to teacher Dang Quoc Chi - Vice Principal of the school: Although this is only a spontaneous initiative, having a school bus has helped students get to and from school on time, avoid taking shortcuts, and ensure traffic safety.
At Nam Xuan Primary School (Nam Dan district), although the majority of students are from the local commune, there are currently four buses transporting students to and from school daily. The students who use these buses are usually children of workers who work far from home or those working in industrial zones in Nam Dan and Hung Nguyen districts.
With a fee of approximately 350,000 VND per student per month, many parents believe this amount is reasonable, even cheaper than the cost of transporting their children by motorbike four times a day. Each school bus also has an additional person to monitor attendance and remind students to be mindful of their schedules while the bus is in motion.
Most parents in my neighborhood work in factories and leave very early. Working hours in industrial zones are also very strict, so parents can't come home early or take time off between shifts to pick up their children. Because of this need, parents in the neighborhoods have contacted us and contracted for us to transport their children to and from school.
The process went quite smoothly because all the children on the bus were from the same neighborhood, they attended the same class and school, and grew up together, so they all knew each other. Every day, the bus picked up and dropped off the children at the same location in the center of the neighborhood, and the children strictly followed the bus company's pick-up and drop-off regulations."
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen – representative of the bus company
Strengthening coordination in management work.
According to the Department of Education and Training, the province currently has approximately 100 school buses. Vinh City has the most with 26 buses. Many other localities also have school buses, including Cua Lo town (9 buses), Nam Dan (8 buses), Hoang Mai town (10 buses), Thai Hoa town (6 buses), Nghi Loc (6 buses), and Hung Nguyen (9 buses). Districts such as Tan Ky, Anh Son, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong, and Nghi Loc each have between 2 and 6 buses.
Initial statistics show that currently only a few private schools use school buses. The rest mainly rely on transportation services contracted by parents on an informal basis. This leads to shortcomings in the management of school buses, despite this being a unique mode of transport stemming from real needs.
At Nghia Hanh Secondary School in Tan Ky, there is currently one school bus hired daily by parents in Doi Cung hamlet to transport students, at a monthly cost of 400,000-500,000 VND. The driver and students on the bus are responsible for managing the vehicle themselves. Mr. Loc Van Thuong, the owner of the bus company, stated: "The children who ride our bus are all secondary school age and are aware of traffic rules. The bus company also takes great responsibility in transporting the children, as they are all children from our commune and family members."
Based on his experience using school transportation, Mr. Dang Quoc Chi, Principal of Nghi Loc 2 High School, said: "Currently, our school's transportation is entirely arranged by parents, and the school does not act as an intermediary. To ensure the safety of students, at parent meetings or when working with the parent representative board, we always remind and request parents to ask the transportation companies to strictly adhere to traffic safety regulations, especially to avoid overloading and carrying more passengers than allowed."
Meanwhile, at Nam Xuan Primary School (Nam Dan), during the implementation process, the school facilitated designated stopping points for school buses or collaborated in raising awareness and reminding students to be mindful when using the buses. However, management remained beyond the school's control.
Our school has a policy that if parents use school transportation, they must sign a clear contract with the transportation company to ensure safety and timely pick-up and drop-off, instruct their children on proper boarding and alighting techniques, and immediately inform the homeroom teacher when they are absent from school.
The transportation company must sign a commitment with parents regarding safety measures when transporting students. The school has clearly scheduled parking times and designated parking areas to avoid affecting other parents and students."
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Van - Principal of Nam Xuan Primary School
To ensure the safety of school buses, the Department of Transportation is currently coordinating with relevant departments and agencies to inspect vehicles being used as school buses. Initial findings show that most vehicles meet the required standards for operation and are under the management of local authorities and relevant agencies.
However, ensuring that these shuttle vehicles are used for their intended purpose requires coordination and supervision from many stakeholders.
Although the final inspection results are not yet available, we are planning to propose that the Department of Education and Training and local authorities strengthen management, especially by increasing supervision and coordination with schools in managing student transportation. This will help to enhance the responsibility of transportation companies during the implementation process, ensuring absolute safety for the vehicles and preventing unfortunate incidents from occurring.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung - Chief Inspector of the Department of Transport