OBBS warns of school transport disruption on Monday, November 16, if payment is not made

The organisation sounded the alarm on Wednesday, 11 November, over the continuing payment arrears. According to OBBS chairman Wayne Telgt, the financial situation of affiliated transport operators has now reached a critical point. Payment for school transport for October has still not been received, while operators fully carried out their services during that month.

If the amount owed has not been credited to the operators’ accounts by Friday, the organisation says it cannot be guaranteed that pupils and teachers will be transported in the usual manner on Monday.

Transport operators financially exhausted

According to the OBBS, bus and boat operators have been facing financial problems for months. August was not a full-income month, and in September no income from school transport was received at all due to the school holiday.

At the same time, the operators had to make substantial investments to prepare their vehicles and vessels for the new school year. These included technical maintenance, repairs, insurance and reupholstering seats.

These expenses had to be incurred without any income from school transport to offset them.

According to the organisation, the situation was further worsened by the absence of payment for October. Several operators have now had to take advances and credit, including from petrol station operators, to pay for fuel and other operational costs.

These debts must be repaid, in some cases with interest. According to the OBBS, many members therefore have hardly any financial capacity left to continue their work.

OBBS complains of poor government communication

The organisation states that it has repeatedly pointed out to the government the consequences of the payment arrears. On 29 October, a letter on the matter was sent to the minister of Onderwijs, Wetenschap en Cultuur (Education, Science and Culture), urgently requesting that the payments be expedited.

According to the OBBS, no substantive response to the letter has been received so far. There is also no clarity on the date on which the outstanding amounts will actually be transferred.

Although the organisation acknowledges that the directors of Financiën and Onderwijs are making efforts to resolve the matter, it expresses concern about conflicting information from within the government apparatus.

At certain times, it was reportedly indicated that payments had already been processed, while it later emerged that they had not yet been made.

The OBBS also says it is receiving signals that payment files remain for lengthy periods at the Comptabiliteit department without further processing.

The organisation considers it unacceptable that possible administrative delays ultimately come at the expense of entrepreneurs who have already delivered their services.

‘No money means no transport’

The OBBS stresses that any interruption of school transport should not be regarded as sabotage or unwillingness on the part of transport operators.

According to the organisation, it is simply no longer financially feasible to purchase fuel on credit, take out advances and continue using personal funds to keep the service running.

“The OBBS wants to keep operating, but cannot keep operating without being paid,” the organisation states in its statement.

The board has therefore decided to set a clear limit. If payment for October has not been received by Friday, 13 November at the latest, continuity of school transport from Monday, 16 November cannot be guaranteed.

This creates the risk that pupils and teachers dependent on school buses and school boats will be unable to reach their educational institutions in the usual manner.

Urgent appeal to government

The OBBS calls on the government, and in particular the ministry of Onderwijs, Wetenschap en Cultuur, to take immediate measures to settle the outstanding payments.

The organisation also calls for a critical investigation into the administrative processing of payment files at the Comptabiliteit department. According to the OBBS, unnecessary delays must be addressed and communication between the government bodies involved must be improved.

The organisation stresses that school transport is an essential public service, the continuity of which should not depend solely on the financial reserves of private transport operators.

With the stated deadline of Friday, 13 November, responsibility now lies with the government, according to the OBBS, to prevent the transport of pupils and teachers from being disrupted at the start of the new school week.