Taxi Witteveen is responsible for the implementation of student transport in the municipality of Almere.Photo: Taxicentrale Witteveen
The Almere college of mayor and aldermen (B&W) is satisfied with the adapted student transport. The council made this known in a letter to the city council. Due to a shortage of drivers, about a hundred children in Almere travel to school by supervised bus transport instead of a taxi. According to the Executive Board, it is currently possible to have all students arrive at their school or internship on time.
During the first months of this year, all students entitled to student transport were taken to school by accompanied bus transport. “This is currently proceeding without many incidents,” the Board of B&W writes in the letter. “In the bus in which students from De Aventurijn (children with learning difficulties) are transported with students from De Bongerd (children with behavioral problems), it has become somewhat quieter compared to the start of the school year. This has to do with the positive influence of the current driver and the bus conductor.”
Driver shortage According to the college, there was a driver shortage at the beginning of this year. Taxi Witteveen, which transports students to 13 different locations in the municipality of Almere, also had to deal with this. According to the municipal council, Witteveen currently has enough drivers available to properly carry out student transport. But, the council warns: “Attracting and retaining drivers remains difficult.”
This positive trend is reflected in the number of complaints. Since January, according to the Executive Board, only nine complaints have been received about student transport, out of a total of 10.000 transport movements per week. “All complaints have been handled,” the board said. The complaints are often about the timeliness of the transport, such as late collection from home, too long travel time or changing drivers.
Satisfaction At the beginning of this year, Taxi Witteveen also carried out a customer satisfaction survey in order to improve the service. A large majority indicate that they are very satisfied, as shown by the overall rating of 8.1. The highest ratings are given to driver satisfaction (9.1), driver contact (8.9) and vehicles used (8.8).
“A small part is less satisfied”, according to the Board. “Solving problems (7.4), contact with employees of the municipality of Almere (7.4) and contact with employees of Taxi Witteveen (7.5) are rated less highly. These points will receive extra attention from both the carrier and the municipality of Almere.”
A satisfaction survey has also been carried out into the accompanied bus transport of the municipality of Almere. This score is slightly higher than the service provided by Taxi Witteveen, namely an 8.2. The highest ratings are given to satisfaction with the driver, satisfaction with the attendant and contact with the attendant. “With the results of the customer satisfaction surveys, improvements are made where possible”, concludes the municipal council.
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