Church and independent school children who use the free transport service will, as of the new scholastic year, be allowed up to two different addresses - one from where they will be picked up in the morning, and another one where they can be dropped off.

The news comes after parents were informed that non-state schoolchildren would no longer be dropped off at a different address to the one they were picked up from in the morning, in a change of policy dealing a blow to working parents.

Parents who spoke to Times of Malta said they have been informed of the new procedure to apply for transport for the upcoming year, with the Education Ministry adopting a one-address-per-child policy.

That policy seems to already be in place for state school transport. Children who attend state schools usually reside in the same locality where they live, while those attending church and private schools usually hail from various localities across the island.

Parents of church and independent school children who applied for next year’s transport with their service provider, were told to re-apply for the service through a system using their e-ID. Parents have been informed applications will open later this month and they are being encouraged to submit their application by end of July.

The initial change in policy was met with concern from working parents whose children are dropped off at alternate addresses, such as their grandparents, or their place of work.

One parent said she would need to work reduced hours to leave her workplace before school is out and rush home to be able to be there when her children are dropped off. It would not be feasible for her to then take her children to their grandparents and return to work, considering the increased traffic at that time.

Her other option would be to drop off her children at school herself in the morning and clock in at work later than she currently does, so that her children would be dropped off at their grandparents after school.

Another parent said he was considering leaving home at the crack of dawn, dropping his children at their grandparents’, from where they would be picked up by the school van and then make his way back to his workplace.

Parents in the same situation claimed the change in policy will see increased traffic as more parents will now opt to either drop off or pick up their children from school themselves, or travel to the drop off point to pick up their children and take them to their relatives’ before returning to work.

Still others wondered whether this would mean they will have to pay for alternative transport despite the government having promised a free service to all schoolchildren just five years ago.

'Ministry has listened to concern'

When contacted, a spokesperson for the Education Ministry said that before the change in policy, the system had an unlimited number of addresses that could be booked.

In theory, a student could have up to five addresses as pick-up points in the morning, and five different addresses as drop-off points in the afternoon.

"This resulted in substantial fragmentation. An evaluation of the policy resulted in numerous 'wasted' seats that were being booked but left unoccupied, creating fragmented routes with artificial occupancy levels.

"This evaluation also showed there were numerous school transport vehicles which were not being utilised, but still on the road, as they had been 'artificially' booked."

 The spokesperson however noted that the ministry understood the concerns and will allow up to two different addresses per student, one as a pickup address and another as a drop-off address.

"This is subject to the department’s evaluation of the individual case and subsequent approval."

Up to 3,912 artificially booked seats 

The ministry, the spokesperson noted, wanted to ensure the system was efficient and accountable while working to reduce the number of unnecessary vehicles and related emissions from the roads. 

Currently, there are 19,115 nonstate students using the free transport service, with 978 students using different addresses, resulting in up to 3,912 extra seats being artificially booked, giving way to unutilised seats, transport not reaching maximum capacity and unnecessary vehicles on the road.

Last month Times of Malta reported that the Education Ministry has scrapped plans for a long-promised tracking device system for all school transport.

Instead, it is providing onboard supervision - to ensure children get on and off the school bus – only to those attending state schools. Parents of children attending church and independent schools cover the supervision bills themselves.

Just last year, the ministry awarded a €118,800 direct order to private company Handson Systems Ltd to set up a “fobs tracking solution” only for the whole idea to be scrapped. In 2018, the government promised free transport and supervision for students attending state, church and independent schools. 

Questions have been sent to the Education Ministry.