Taking safety into account in arranging school transports

The education provider is obliged to arrange school transports. If school transports are arranged as a part of regular service, the criteria for school transport are not usually applied to the procurement. Taking safety into account remains often the sole responsibility of the transport operator in transports arranged as a part of regular service, and the education provider does not have the opportunity to set safety conditions on the transports.

The Finnish National Agency for Education should instruct education providers to ensure that safety issues are taken into account regardless of how school transports are arranged, and notify transport operators and education providers about the goals and existence of the instructions.

The instructions can be included in the guide on school transports by the Finnish National Agency for Education, for example. Information can be provided to transport operators via the Linja-autoliitto organisation for bus operators and the Taksiliitto organisation for taxi entrepreneurs, for instance.

The education provider is obliged to arrange school transports. If school transports are arranged as a part of regular service, the criteria for school transport are not usually applied to the procurement. Taking safety into account remains often the sole responsibility of the transport operator in transports arranged as a part of regular service, and the education provider does not have the opportunity to set safety conditions on the transports.