With summer break nearing its end and students preparing to return to school, parents are facing nail-biting concerns over bus fares, as some companies and institutions are raising costs by over 100 percent, disregarding the 16 percent official hike set by Istanbul Municipality's Transportation Coordination Center (UKOME).
Parents worry about exorbitant school bus fares
ISTANBUL
This has led some institutions to demand annual bus service fees of up to 100,000 Turkish Liras.
This steep increase in school bus fees is forcing parents to consider unlicensed buses or compare costs with taxi fares, according to local media reports.
For a residence 3.8 km away, a school bus company charges 60,000 liras annually. This means a student using the bus 180 days a year pays an average of 333 liras per day, whereas taking a taxi for the same route costs 200–220 liras daily.
“The school bus operators do not profit from these increases. The brokers keep the difference. Some claim they offer special services and require more money, although the vehicle is still the same,” explained Günhan Sinar, the head of the Istanbul Chamber of Tradesmen for Public Service Vehicle Operators (İSAROD).
Referring to some parents considering dealing with unlicensed school buses because of the high prices, Sinar warned that this could pose a significant risk to children’s well-being.
“Unlicensed school buses are not inspected. The drivers of those with licenses have their records for drug use, alcohol use and criminal activity checked,” he explained. “Parents do not know who they are entrusting their children with when they deal with unlicensed ones. Any kind of negative incident may occur.”
He further warned that parents must be careful about the license numbers of the buses to make sure they are not unlicensed, as “34 LA-LZ" is the correct combination.
İbrahim Güllü, the deputy chairman of the Insurance Commission of the Consumer Confederation (TÜKONFED), also warned the parents not to pay unreasonable fees and underlined the importance of taking action in such incidents.
“There can be no requests for fees exceeding the ceiling limit set by UKOME. Parents should notify UKOME if they are requested more money,” he said.
He further added that the parents must also notify the school bus company in a written form and keep a copy for themselves, as they are able to receive the extra money back by appealing to a consumer arbitration committee.