One of the top school transport providers in the UAE is taking steps to boost ridership, including experimenting with a 15 per cent reduction in bus fees, as Dubai targets a 13 per cent increase in students using buses to ease traffic congestion around schools.
Although school transportation costs remain a widely debated issue, parents, especially those with multiple children, often call on schools and service providers to reduce prices and make transportation more affordable.
However, recent incidents involving children in fatal accidents while using illegal private transport have intensified concerns within school communities about the safety procedures for student drop-offs and pick-ups.
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Cost reduction strategies
Khaleej Times visited the office of School Transport Services (STS) on Tuesday to understand if cost reduction strategies are an option for them to increase accessibility and wider adoption.
Steve Burnell, managing director of STS group, said, “If you look at our position, it’s a commercial service, and we face an increase in cost every year. Fuel, for example, changes month-on-month. But we set a fee at the beginning of the year. However, fuel costs go up and down. It’s never gone back to what it was pre-Covid. It doubled at one point, and we carried all of that increase, employee costs, regulatory changes, importation of buses, and shipping costs. We carry all of that risk.”
STS serves more than 92 schools and over 120,000 students, with a fleet of over 3,800 smart buses and more than 4,500 drivers.
“We have done various initiatives across several schools saying let’s reduce the bus fee by 15 per cent and get more riders. But we have a market, and we have to promote and educate. We got two terms in and found that it didn’t make a difference.”
Policy and mindset shift
Implementing centralised systems to monitor and manage maintenance, fuel consumption, and driver schedules can help reduce operational inefficiencies and costs, a strategy commonly adopted by providers in the UAE.
However, Burnell stressed that it is also essential to shift parents’ mindsets.
“I would say if there was more reform around controller costs, then there will always be an opportunity to review the process of something (reducing costs). But parents have a freedom of choice. You can choose to go to a premium school, or you can choose to go to a lower-priced school, depending on the education system that you are looking for.
“It’s the same with transportation. You can choose to walk or ride a bike depending on the proximity. You can choose public transport if the network is accessible from your residence, take a taxi or parents can choose to drop them at school. Each of those has a different price point, and time and has a different level of service. The reality is if you want something fast, cheap, and of high quality one can’t normally get all three in the same service,” he added.
Relationship based on trust
When managing a school bus fleet, certain costs, like fuel and staff wages, remain relatively predictable; however, the cost of procuring new buses can fluctuate due to market factors like inflation, supply chain issues, or demand for certain models.
“We take the risks on all that,” Burnell added. He highlighted that what sets school transportation apart is the relationship built between parents, drivers, and bus guardians.
“There is a relationship between a bus staff and a parent. It’s the same driver and bus guardian every day. There is a level of assurance that nothing else can match. What price are you prepared to compromise for the safety of your child? Are we talking about Dh20 a day or Dh30 a week? If something is very cheap, then I would say there is a concern. I can’t change the mindset of every parent.”
“We check our buses every day. We redefine student safety and operational efficiency through advanced technology and a dedicated approach at our Operations Control Centre. Parents don’t have to keep thinking about their child’s return from school. If delayed, they can look at the App. School buses ordinarily come at a specific time during a given window. The child is de-boarded by the bus guardian, who makes sure they cross the road and get to the entrance for Dh25 a day (considering the average cost).
Meanwhile, the company also runs a programme called ‘Stop, Listen, and Try,” where they organise school events and invite parents to use the bus service for a week, free of charge. “We say if you like it, then you can buy it; if you don’t like it, no harm done.”
Environmental impact
Highlighting the aspect of transportation and its environmental impact, Burnell said, “From an environmental perspective, the carbon dioxide produced by a car is lower than that produced by a bus. But the CO2 impact per passenger is 40 times less for a bus than it is for a car. That’s because the car carries on an average one-and-a-half people whereas a bus on average carries 20-22 people to school.”
Additionally, the company’s B5 biofuel tanks are now placed at three schools, enabling their service a total of eight schools.