Clampdown on school vans for sixth formers: ‘Impractical and insane’

Parents of sixth formers are no longer allowed to send their children to school on vans that are scheduled for younger students as part of the national transport service.

It had become a practice that extra spaces on vans could be taken up by sixth-form students against a fee paid to the service provider once primary and secondary students were allocated free transport.

This meant that families with more than one child attending the same school had their children transported in the same vehicle.

But parents say they were told that will come to an end.

“In my case, I will have one son using school transport and another one I will have to drive to school myself along the same route at the same time,” one frustrated parent said. “How sensible is that? It sounds impractical, insane and an only-in-Malta kind of reason where no reason at all prevails.”

Parents said this mainly applied to De La Salle College and St Aloysius College that host sixth formers and younger students.

In my case, I will have one son using school transport and another one I will have to drive to school myself along the same route at the same time- Frustrated parent

The government first introduced free transport service to kindergarten, primary and secondary level students attending Church and independent schools in 2018. Parents can register their child for the service if they live one kilometre away from the school.

Their children are picked up and dropped off for free, however, parents need to cover supervision bills as onboard monitoring is only provided for free to those attending State schools.

Up until last year, if a van on a particular route had any empty seats, these could be booked by sixth-form students attending the same school that the vehicle was servicing.

One parent who last year paid the transport provider €50 per month for this service told Times of Malta that drivers have now been ordered not to take on sixth formers when picking up students of compulsory schooling, even if they do not reach full capacity.

She has now been asked for €100 per month by a different service provider who will only transport sixth formers.

Several others whose children attend either school have resorted to social media to join other parents similarly looking for a van to transport their sixth formers.

Bussing it to the college is not an option for all as public transport is not always reliable and students risk making it late for school.

When asked why the ministry was stopping providers from allowing sixth formers on their vans, a spokesperson said the government never provided the service to sixth formers.

“The ministry takes those necessary decisions to ensure that every type of service it provides is used in the best manner and according to the agreements made between the ministry and those providing the service,” he said.

“The ministry has never provided this service and one must also keep in mind that public transport is provided free of charge following a measure introduced by this government.”