How do you get students in special education from A to B as cheaply as possible? According to many, that is what student transport is all about. Much to the frustration of parents and the taxi industry. Pointer is KRO-NCRV's investigative journalism platform on TV, radio and online. They keep you on your toes and tackle the issues of the moment.

Parents of students in special education have been expressing their dissatisfaction with the quality of their children's transport for months. For the Pointer research into the problems in the student transport they receive reports from all over the country about long travel times, changing drivers, overcrowded vans, and children who are sometimes left behind in the schoolyard. But what is actually at the root of all these problems?

The easy answer, according to the research, is lack of staff. The transport sector is faced with a huge shortage of drivers. However, there is more going on than just a shortage in the labor market. It has been raining complaints about this transport for years. According to the KNV taxi industry association, the root cause of the sector's problems is the fierce competition in the taxi market, which is stimulated by the tendering law.

In theory, this means that you can win a tender based on quality requirements. In practice, however, the taxi company with the best price offer usually runs away with the order, believes Bertho Eckhardt, chairman of the taxi industry organization KNV. The result: fierce competition and increasingly lower bids.

“Of course it's not just about transport from A to B. It is part of the education chain for students who go to special education for a reason. We just have to get that right.”

Pointer is on TV every Sunday at 22:10 PM on NPO 2. Every Sunday at 19:00 PM they can be heard on NPO Radio 1.

Also read: Pupil transport cannot simply be combined