FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT / DEDICATED BUS LINES FOR CHILDREN TO TRAVEL TO&FROM SCHOOL

By project School Chance

Published on 22 July 2022

Romania

Centru

Brasov

About this good practice

The problem (in the initial stage) has been the traffic congestion in the historic center of the city at early hours of the morning to which parents driving children to school contributed greatly. As such, in 2019 a free public transport service has been introduced to serve specifically the school and high schools in the city historic quarter to decrease the number of cars in the area. The project had limited success in eliminating traffic congestion but has been received very well by students, teachers and parents. As a result, during 2020 a lot of public groups have requested that the service be expanded to cover other areas of the city outside of the city center. Beginning with 2021, the service has been gradually expanded and reaches the large majority of schools and high schools in the city of Brasov
The practice allows students to use a service calibrated on their needs in terms of timetable (specifically created to allow children to step off the bus and reach the classroom before 8 am), routes (the 12 routes are in the vicinity of 38 schools and high schools) and customization (only students and teachers are allowed on the busses, depending on the need, a police person will be on the bus).
Main stakeholders include the Brasov Municipality, students and parents, schools and faculty and the transport agency who handles the logistics with the PT operator

Resources needed

The funding required amounts to 13236 Euro/month (105888 Euro/school year-aprox 8 out of 12 months) The funding is provided fully by the city of Brașov. There are also logistical resources involved to manage the reimbursement as well periodic meetings with parent groups for updating bus routes

Evidence of success

The best evidence for the success of the good practice is the requests from school officials and parent groups to extend the service from its initial design (covering only the historic center where congestions were most likely to occur). In 2021 a great deal of public demand asked for an expansion of this service. In 2022, the service operates 12 routes with 14 city busses and reaches 38 out of the 45 schools and high schools in the city of Brasov

Potential for learning or transfer

The practice could provide an option for cities to manage student & teacher transportation in a personalized fashion by providing a specific type of service dedicated to the needs of a specific group. It sheds light on the resources needed and how the community could be involved in designing a specific service. Also, the practice allows for a financial estimation of resources needed as well as the variables in play to ensure that expenditures are optimized