Scholar Transportation Policy (STP)

BUCKRIDGE PRIVATE SCHOOL

1.       SCHOLAR TRANSPORTATION POLICY (STP)

             DEFINITION 

Learner transport is the transportation of learners to and from school, usually by a private car, bus or public Taxis. In the case of Buckridge Private School, Parents arrange and pay for the scholar transport of their own choice from Private Public Transport providers.

2.       PURPOSE 

The purpose of this policy is to provide clear criteria for the transportation of learners attending BUCKRIDGE Private School.  It will also meant to set out guidelines for the provision of scholar transportation services for learners and to ensure that learners are punctual and arrive safe for effective learning and teaching to take place uninterrupted. The policy will also explain all and safety procedures expected to be followed by transport users bringing learners at Buckridge Private School.

3.       OBJECTIVES OF THE (STP) ARE TO:

-Ensure that learners access schools with ease.

-Enhance the learning and teaching of learners.

-Ensure that the safety of learners is guided and guaranteed by service providers.

-Ensure a good working relationship amongst all stakeholders involved.

4.       LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK :The STP is impacted by the following pieces of legislation-;

-          The Constitution of South Africa, 1996(Act No. 108 of 1996) which provides the right of access to education by all scholars;

-          The draft policy is guided by the White paper on National Transport Policy.

-          National Land Transport Transition Act,2000 (Act No.22 of 2000)

-          The National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996)

-          Other relevant legislations are Public Transport Action Plan and National Land Transport strategic Framework.

-          The South African Schools Act (Act No:1 of 1999)

5.       SCOPE OF APPLICATION

This STP applies to all learners that learn at Buckridge Private School and all transport users that ferry learners to and from school including private cars

6.       CONDUCT OF CONDUCT

The conduct of learners, taxi operators, drivers and parents is upmost in delivery of scholar transport as bad behaviour will have an impact on the users of the scholar transport. Any bad behaviour demonstrated by any of these parties will be dealt with accordingly. The service providers shall be required to transport learners as per contractual agreement made with the parents.  The operator shall provide transport on all school days as per Buckridge School Calendar issued each year to both parents and drivers. There should be mutual respect amongst learners, taxi leaders, taxi operators and teachers supervising learners at the taxi loading/offloading zone. Learners should be punctual every day. School starts at 07:30 and the school gate is opened at 0700am in the morning. School finishes at 1400hrs Monday- Thursday and 1330hrs on Friday. The gate will be opened at 1400hrs in the afternoon and closed at 1430hrs. All learners should be collected from the school premises by 1430. All learners not collected by that time will be sent for Aftercare and charges will apply on the parent’s invoice. Learners are expected to arrive at the school not earlier than 30 minutes and no later than 15 minutes before starting time in the morning. No learners shall be sitting on windows or on arm rest/head rest while the taxi is in motion. Learners should respect property and not vandalise the taxis. Learners should stand in their designated taxi lines and stick to the line until the taxi comes in the afternoon. In the morning learners should make a line getting out of the taxi and move in a single file until they reach their classrooms. Taxi operators shall provide waste bin to encourage learners not to litter or throw objects through the window. No driver shall touch, fondle, smack, kick, insult learners or conduct himself/herself in an unbecoming manner. This type of behaviour is forbidden even if it’s conducted by any learner against another, driver or any other user of the taxi carrying Buckridge Learners. Smoking, carrying and use of drugs and alcohol and dangerous weapons are totally not allowed in the taxi. This applies to learners, drivers, and any person(s) using the taxi carrying learners. No learner board or alight the taxi when it is in motion. It is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that the learner is punctual in the morning and is picked up before 1430hrs in the afternoon. No driver shall be allowed to take the child before school finishes unless prior arrangement between the parent and school is made and the parent has informed the school that the child will be fetched earlier. No driver is allowed to drop off or pick learners outside the school premises. No learners from other schools shall be allowed to roam around the school for any purpose/ reason. Drivers who pick up or drop Buckridge learners should not allow other learners or people in the taxi to get down. Drivers are not allowed to exchange learners or use our premises as an exchange zone,(i.e) leave or carry learners from other schools inside our school premises. Drivers are not allowed to make their own emergency arrangements of changing transportation of the learners without prior arrangements with the parents as the school has the right to stop learners into getting in the taxi that is not theirs especially when the taxi they are getting into is full.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOLAR TRANSPORT STAKEHOLDERS

7.       The Principal and the School shall ensure that:

-          Taxi leaders are allocated to each taxi

-          Keep a list of all taxi operators with details of the driver, number plate, area they are serving and the list of learners in each taxi.

-          Allocate all taxis parking bays for loading and offloading learners and label them with taxi driver’s name for learners to line up

-          Provide a teacher/s on duty in the morning and afternoons to supervise learners

-          Allocate a teacher/s to control learners on private transport side of the parking bay.

-          Draft and issue out a scholar transport policy to be signed by each taxi operator, driver, all learners and parents at the beginning of each year.

-          Give all operators the school academic calendar

-          Keep an up to date record of all incidents, misconduct and anti social behaviour in taxis

8.       Parents/ Guardians

-          Find appropriate operator that will ferry the learner from home to school daily

-          Pay for the transportation service in time

-          Make sure that the child is at pick up and drop off zone at the correct time

-          Liaise with the driver/operator to solve problems that happen in the taxi

-          Sign and agree to the scholar transport policy as prescribed by the school and DBE

9.       Transport Provider shall ensure that:

-          The vehicle he/she uses is permitted by law to carry paying passengers for a reward on public roads and is roadworthy condition.

-          To provide vehicles and drivers that meets all legal requirements according to laws of South Africa.

-          The driver has driver’s license and professional driving permit.

-          The vehicle is insured.

-          The vehicle does not exceed its registered carrying capacity.

-          The Owner of the vehicle(s) used to convey learners has a passenger liability insurance cover as the school and the Department cannot accept liability in the event of an accident

10.   Drivers

-          To provide students safe travel between their home and their designated collection point site at school and vice versa ensuring all safeguarding protocols are followed

-          Do not pick up or drop off at any point other than that one designated by the school.

-          In the event of a breakdown or accident, maintain a safe environment for all learners, contact the parent, emergency services and the school if possible

-          Do not sell or supply goods of any kind to learners or stop en route for learners to obtain goods of any kind.

-          Never try to resolve any acts of misconduct unless a student on board the behaviour presents a danger to the vehicle or other learners on board. Report any troublesome behaviour of a child to his/her parents or to any teacher on duty.

-          To be responsible for safety for the entire duration of the journey

-          To be responsible for the behaviour of students from the start to end of their journey both in the morning and afternoon

-          Must not provide food, sweets or drinks to students in their  care

-          No learner/s shall be put off any taxi mid-journey

-          Drivers will not be allowed to drive learners from the school if the school authorities suspect that the driver is under the influence of alcohol or any other drug that can impair driving judgement hence compromising the safety of the learners.

11.   Taxi Leaders

-          Is the most senior learner in the taxi

-          Count if all learners are present before the taxi depart from school

-          Keep a list of all learners in their taxi

-          Make sure that learners maintain a single file in the morning when going to the classrooms

-          Help teacher on duty to maintain the line in the afternoon while waiting for the taxi to come

-          Maintain order in the taxi when in transit

-          Make sure that learners do not eat and litter in the taxi

-          Report any misconduct that happens in the taxi by learners to teachers

-           

12.   SAFERTY AND SECURITY OF LEARNERS

The safety of and security of the learners being transported through public transport depend mainly on the conduct of the driver, condition of the taxi and to a certain extent the condition of the road. The following should be observed:

-          Registration certificate of the vehicle transporting learners should comply with the current legislative requirements regarding public transport.

-          Learners shall always be transported in a vehicle that has a valid Certificate of Fitness(COF)

-          All vehicles should have Road worthiness Certificates which must be validated by authorised traffic authorities.

-          Copies of certified permit/operating license similar to the vehicle must always be carried by the vehicle

-          Certified copy of the driver’s license and Public Driving Permit(PDP) must always be ready with the driver

-          Permit/Operating valid license for the vehicle

-          At all times the taxi operator must ensure that the passenger liability is valid and renewed

-          No learners will be transported in unauthorised transport mode such as vans, trucks or pick up open trucks.

-          The taxi operator/driver should make sure that all necessary documents such as Passenger liability, Operating License and Professional Driver’s Permit are safely kept and produced whenever needed.

-          All drivers entering the school premises should adhere to the safety signs and driving speed limits stipulated. Drivers who speed in the school premises will be cautioned.

13.   Types of Vehicles that may be used

Since the conveyance of learners to and fro school is regarded as public transportation service, the transport used for this purpose should conform to national road safety standards. All vehicles that are permitted by law to carry paying passengers on public roads may be used, provided that they:

-          Are always in a road worthy condition and the school may request the transport provider to provide proof that the vehicle is roadworthy.

-          Are driven by drivers who posses valid driver’s license and valid public driving permits.

-          Do not exceed the carrying capacity that appears on the registration certificate.

-          Are owned by people who have adequate personal liability insurance.

14.    SUPERVISON

As much as certain forms of undesirable conduct have been spelt out, it is necessary that supervision of both learners and taxi operators should be conducted.  Parents will be expected to monitor what happens with the scholar transport. The taxi leaders appointed should be trained to oversee the affairs in the taxi in order to report any misconduct by learners in the taxi. It is not only about misconduct but also to encourage and develop leadership as well as innovation within the scholar transport operation

15.   PRIVATE CARS SCHOLAR TRANSPORT

Any late arrival of learners in school, through private cars of taxi public scholar transport service is very disruptive to learning and teaching and to the overall performance of learners. This is strictly forbidden. Parents of such learners shall ensure that their learners are punctual at school. Should the late arrival occur parents of implicated learners shall be informed to correct the situation. Comfort and safety are paramount to the effective learning of learners. No learners should be transported in unsafe, unhealthy and uncomfortable vehicles. Overloading of learners in whatever type of vehicle undermines the comfort and safety just mentioned above. As such taxi operators who overload shall be reported to parents for further action. All matters of misconduct mentioned under the section on Conduct, and Safety and Security of learners above are also applicable to private scholar transport. In whatever circumstances the parents of the learners take responsibility for the safety of the learners.

DISCLAIMER

16.   SCHOOL MANAGED TRANSPORT SCHEME  The school does not provide or run any transport scheme or have any partnership with any transport providers to carry any learner to and from school on behalf of any parent/guardian.  Any claim for whatever reason should be directed to the operator of the transportation service.

17.   The school does not take any responsibility for any damage, caused by others drivers, cars, fire, theft or any accident while parking in the school premises.

18.   NON COMPLIANCE  

The school will take the responsibility to report Transport operators, drivers and parents who do not comply with the laid down laws and regulations as noted in policy which might result in compromising the safety and security of learners to and from school.

19.   SIGN: (where applicable)

a)      Parent …………………………………………………………………………………………. of …………………………………………………………………… grade ………………………………………………..

b)      Driver’s Name………………………………………………………………… Dr’s License no…………………………………..code……………………………….expiry date…………………………… R eg no………………..

20.    DATED: _______________________________________