'Cost Stops Parents from Heeding RTA Bus Call'

A call for parents to abandon the school run and 'trust the bus' has been issued by a senior official at Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

“Using buses is beneficial for everyone, including parents and children. Travelling by bus children are more likely to reach schools and home on time. There will be fewer traffic jams, which could result from parents using their personal cars, which will also mean there will be less pollution,” said Tareq Al Gaith, Director of Franchise and Monitoring at the RTA’s Public Transport Agency.

Up to 131,000 pupils are transported to and from school per day in a fleet of 5,000 school buses, according to the authority.

Cost has, however, proven to be a major inhibitor in convincing many parents to  heed previous calls to put their children on buses.  Fees for individual children can run up to 10,000 dhs for a year which is a significant additional expense on top of fees, clothing, books, extracurricular activities and other expenses.