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Transport must be sustainable and affordable.

The summer months are cucumber time in the newsgathering of some media. After all, during that period you cannot call off all municipalities to ask whether there are any problems with the implementation of their student transport. The municipal councils will be informed about the results again after the summer recess and regional newspapers and social media can then run at full speed again. 

complaints

A sad situation for many aldermen who are now stuck with the lack of personnel at transport companies. And that is grist to the mill of opposition parties. Kempen municipalities Bergeijk, Bladel, Reusel-De Mierden and Eersel are dissatisfied with transport company Willemsen-de Koning and formally declare the carrier in default. Amstelveen recently fined Maasstad Regie Centrale. 

Parents in the Bollenstreek are furious about Noot's student transport, which is working on improving services, the quality of student transport in Coevorden must be improved and in Woudenberg there are many complaints about student transport. But there is also good news that you can quote about in an article, because the municipality of Lisse has not received any complaints about student transport.

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Transport of which you can expect that the quality must be higher than the lowest cost price.

debt-seeking companies

The common thread in all complaints is finding the cause of all transport problems. The main reason these days is lack of staff. Where is the time when it comes to a bad planning Was it, or worse, the software systems? The debt is often, on behalf of clients or municipalities, found by external 'guilt-search companies' with everyone except the clients themselves. These are usually large orders. 

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The client asks market parties to submit a quotation before a certain date. After this date, the registration closes and the client decides who will receive the assignment. The purpose of a tender procedure is to promote competition and create equal opportunities. In practice, it provides a good insight into where people should pay the least for solving the problem of student transport that they as a municipality are saddled with.

price tag

If a child cannot go to school independently due to illness, a disability or behavioral problems, it can use student transport. Pupils are eligible for student transport who, because of their philosophy of life, attend a school that is further than the kilometer limit, who cannot travel independently by public transport due to their disability or who attend a school for special (primary) education. Transport where you can expect the quality of service to be higher than the lowest cost. 

The basis is laid when purchasing transport. It remains a choice of the municipality how it ultimately deals with the trade-off between price and quality. And yet we have been signaling a 'race to the bottom' for years when it comes to student transport. Not only in terms of price, but also quality. And no, it is not the driver that is the cause, but the total system in which we ended up in the Netherlands. 

The award criteria are the most economically advantageous offer, the lowest price, delivery conditions and an increasing number of environmental criteria such as sustainability. Rarely do you read about 'customer experience' or good transport guidance, much to the frustration of parents and the taxi industry. This situation was fueled by the Public Procurement Act. 

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drivers

The drivers are a very important part of the total transport process and deserve a good loon† Perhaps clients can take this into account when making a subsequent purchase so that the staff shortage is in any case not due to the reward for their diligent work. That is also the duty of the clients to monitor and check this.

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