Parents call for regulation of school-bus fares, services
Main complaints are high fees, companies' unwillingness to serve outside coverage areas
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On average, it will cost a family at least $945 a year for a one-way, school-bus arrangement per child and at least $1,134 for the two-way deal. School-bus firms require families to pay for a 12-month service even though school terms last nine months.
ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Irene Tham , Irene Tham
When her second child entered Primary 1 this year, Ms Sandy Kang, 40, decided it was time to take her nine-year-old son out of the school-bus system.
Although their home in Hougang is just over 2km from Holy Innocents' Primary, where the children are enrolled, the monthly fee charged by the private school-bus services provider is $145 for a one-way trip, for each child.