GNT School Bus Service overview In this handbook you can find the information and procedures regarding the School Bus Service provided by Global Network Transit Pte Ltd ( GNT ), starting from April 14 2014. Please read the information carefully. There are a number of important changes in the procedures. Below is the content summary for quick reference: 1 Content sheet 2 Registrations and cancellations 3 School times and bus options - overview 4 School times and bus options - details 5 Regular and incidental changes 6 Coupon service 7 Prices 2014-2015 8 Bus procedures 9 GNT service policy 10 Reporting incidents & complaints 11 Contacts 1
Registrations & cancellations Registration GNT will provide its bus services under a framework agreement with HSL. Parents also sign a contract with GNT for the requested services. ComfortDelGro contracts have been automatically transferred to GNT as per April 14 2014, for all parents that have responded to the GNT registration e-mail. New registrations can be made following the procedure below. Parents can register for the regular School Bus Service at any time during the school year. Registering for a regular bus contract can be done by completing and signing the GNT bus registration form. The latest version can be requested by sending an e-mail to reg@gntgroup.org Parents apply for a school bus for 1 to 4 days per week (only available for Jip en Janneke groups) or 5 days per week (all other grades). Pick-up point is always the residential address. Drop-off point is either this address or the Hollandse Club (club bus). The drop-off option needs to be specified per day of the week upon registration. GNT requires a 5 working day process period for new registrations. Scheduling is subject to bus availability and residential address location. Registration for the after school activities ( NSA ) bus can only be done concurrently with the registration for a new NSA term for one or more fixed days of the week. Upon succesful registration, all children will receive a GNT bus card. Children are required to carry this card when using the School Bus Service and to show this card to the bus attendants when boarding the bus. cancellations The bus contract is for an indefinite period with a 1 month cancellation notice period. There is no refund for incidental cancellations. No refund for NSA bus cancellations. 2
School times & bus options - overview The pickup point is always the residential address Regular bus options school out 12:00 noon 2:30 pm 3:30 pm 1:30 pm only Friday 1. Regular bus home 1. Regular bus home 2. Regular club bus 3. Coupon club bus 1. Regular bus home 2. Regular club bus 3. Coupon club bus 1. Regular bus home 2. Regular club bus 3. Coupon club bus Jip en Janneke (J&J) J&J extended day, group 1&2 groups 3 to 8 groups 1 to 8 NSA bus options school out 3:30 pm 4:45 pm 2:45 pm only Friday No NSA for J&J 1. late regular bus home 2. late regular club bus 1. NSA bus home(*) 1. NSA bus home (*) (*) Hollandse Club is an alternative drop off point. (*) Hollandse Club is an alternative drop off point. group 1 & 2 groups 3 to 8 groups 1 to 8 3
School times & bus options - details For improved service and safety, all bus trips will need to be registered by GNT. Regular bus: Routes, pick-up & drop-off times can be subject to change. Cancellations for the regular daily school bus must always be reported with GNT at the earliest occasion. Regular club bus: For families that have a bus contract, all trips (regular or incidental) with the bus to the Hollandse Club must be registered by GNT. Incidental use must be requested at least 48 hours in advance. Coupon club bus: Families that do not have a bus contract can buy coupons for the club bus. A coupon trip can be requested 48 hours in advance only and is subject to bus capacity. NSA buses: For NSA bus service, GNT will use a smaller number of buses and with other routes than the regular buses. For children from groups 1, 2 who finish NSA at 3:30 pm, parents can register them for the late (3:30 pm) regular home or club bus if they have a regular bus contract at no extra costs. There will not be a separate NSA club bus anymore. The club will be an alternative drop-off point instead of the residential address. This is for a fixed day during the entire NSA term only. NSA courses and buses will not be canceled due to bad weather. Alternative activities will be organized. 4
Regular and incidental changes Regular changes: Regular changes include a change in (1) home address, (2) contact details, (3) pick-up time at school, or (4) bus option (club bus, bus home or no bus) for certain days of the week. Applying for a change in the School Bus Service can be done using the GNT registration form. For a change of service it is sufficient to fill in the family contact details and the requested change only. GNT requires a 3 working day process period for change requests. When a bus reschedule is required, it is subject to bus availability and residential address location. For NSA buses only a residential address change is possible during an NSA term. Cancellations for the NSA bus can be made but without a refund. Incidental changes: Incidental changes for regular and NSA buses include one-time only requests for (1) playdates, (2) cancellation for a school bus trip (including birthday parties), (3) change in the return bus option (club or home). It is not possible to request for a different drop-off address other than the Hollandse club or the playdate address. Playdates are restricted to families with a bus contract. All incidental changes have to be requested at least 48 hours in advance in English. For playdates by sending an e-mail to playdates@hollandseschool.org, for all other requests use schoolbus@hollandseschool.org. Please including the date, name and class of the child in the change request. No later than 24 hours before the bus trip will the parents be informed whether it is possible to make the change. If a child is not taking the school bus in the morning due to unforeseen circumstances, please call or SMS GNT directly to avoid unnecessary waiting and delay to the journey. For requests or queries not covered here, please contact GNT through schoolbus@hollandseschool.org. 5
Coupon service For children without a bus contract who wish to use the club bus, GNT will sell coupons at school. These coupons can be acquired in sets of 5 for SGD25. Coupons cannot be purchased individually. This option is only available for the regular club bus at 2:30, 3:30 pm for Monday to Thursday and 1:30 pm on Fridays. In case your child wishes to make a trip on the club bus, you need to send a request to schoolbus@hollandseschool.org at least 48 hours before the trip. Please include the date, name and class of the child in the e-mail. No later than 24 hours before the bus trip, parents will receive confirmation of seat availability for their child. The child also needs to bring a coupon on the day of the bus trip. Please note that the club bus is a drop-off service, not a hand-over. Once all the children are out of the bus, the bus will leave and it is the responsibility of the parents or guardians to collect their children at the club if needed. 6
Prices 2014 2015 (SGD) 1, 2 or 3 days (for Jip & Janneke only) Distance (km) 2 way 1 way Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 0-5 500 350 320 360 260 230 5.1-10 630 440 400 450 320 290 10.1-11 750 530 470 530 380 340 4 or 5 days ( 4 day option for Jip en Janneke only) Distance (km) 2 way 1 way Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 0-5 830 580 520 600 420 380 5.1-10 1040 720 650 750 530 470 10.1-11 1240 870 780 880 620 552 NSA school bus fee is a fixed flat fee 8 SGD per trip (with or without bus contract) Payment details for GNT are supplied in the GNT registration form. 7
Bus procedures Morning Children must be ready at their pick-up locations (house entrance or condo gate) 5 minutes prior to pick-up time. Parental or guardian supervision at the pick-up location is highy recommended. The bus will wait a maximum of 2 minutes at the pick-up location before continuing with the rest of the route. Children of every age group should keep their bus cards with them at all times to allow for easy and correct identification. Bus attendants will ensure the safety of the children by enforcing the use of seat belts. Parents should instruct their children as well to belt up and stay in their seats. Afternoon After school all children will go to their bus signs in the building, assisted by teachers where needed. The bus attendent will wait for them there and will go through the bus list to ensure that all children on the list are present. The bus attendents will receive a daily updated list from the GNT officer. From there the children will be assisted to their buses group by group. Please note that a bus will not leave if one or more children are unaccounted for. If a child is absent unexpectantly, the GNT officer at school will attempt to locate the child and if unsuccessful he will contact the parents. It is the responsibility of parents to report cancellations at all times. For a drop-off at landed properties, the bus attendent will ensure the children have entered the house or the garden gate. For a drop-off at appartements or condo s, a proper hand-over to a parent or guardian is needed at the main gate for children in group 3 and below. In case this is not possible, the child will be brought back to the school and the parents will be contacted to collect their children at school. 8
GNT service policy Below is a summary of some general aspects of the GNT School Bus Service; Bus All buses are equipped with correctly operating air conditioning. Buses are clean, in good working order, with proper seats (no pull down seats). All buses are equipped with working 3-point seat belts on every seat. Route A back-up bus is available in case there is a mechanical failure with one of the buses. GNT shall reimburse the parents of the children who cannot travel because of a failure of the bus to arrive at the pickup point after 15 min of the scheduled pick-up time. Such reimbursement is not to exceed the equivalent taxi fare to and from the school. Keep the taxi receipt. Parents will receive a prompt call or SMS when the bus is late due to traffic or other delaying circumstances along the route. Bus routes must be less than 45 min. It is the objective of GNT to plan the routes for a maximum of 30 min. For the first 2 weeks after the beginning of a new school term, bus routes can temporarily take up to 60 min. Trip distances are based on Google Maps route distances. Communication The GNT officer will occupy the service desk at HSL from 7 am till 5 pm, which covers the maximum daily time slot for the School Bus Service. After 5 pm the GNT hot line is available. HSL will receive up-to-date copies of the bus passenger lists and routes. This includes incidental changes as playdates, club bus trips (including with coupons) and cancellations. 9
Reporting incidents & complaints Bus incidents In case the school bus is involved in a traffic accident, all parents will be informed immediately by the GNT officer in case the bus is unable to continue the route. A back-up bus will be employed to continue the route. In case of a medical emergency with one of the children on the bus, GNT will do its utmost best to contact the parents and the school directly to consult on appropriate actions. Please note that without explicit parental consent, GNT cannot make major decisions about medical treatment. The HSL Parental Consent Form does not apply to the School Bus Service. Incidents among children in the bus, such as quarrels, fighting or bullying, will be reported by the bus attendents to the GNT officer. The GNT officer will contact the school where needed. The school will give the appropriate follow-up towards the involved parents and children. Parents report on bus incidents to the GNT officer as their first line of contact. HSL is second line of contact in case the parents require additional assistance of the school. Parents are advised not to give feedback to the bus drivers and attendents directly. GNT can decide to suspend the School Bus Service for a child or family on disciplinary grounds. No refund will be issued for the paid bus fees. Reasons can be; repeated no-shows at the pick-up time, structural misbehavior in the bus or a failure to pay the school bus fees. Service incidents & complaints For all reporting of incidents and complaints, the GNT office is the first line of contact. For non-urgent incidents and complaints, GNT will provide feedback within 24 hours. For escalations or second line support only, parents can contact HSL through busincidents@hollandseschool.org. In severe cases, issues can be brought to the attention of the school management. 10
Contacts Telephone numbers of the GNT office at HSL For incident reporting, early morning cancellations (sick leave) and general enquiries: Direct line: 6466 2754 Mobile: 8777 2168 (hot line) GNT e-mail addresses General e-mailadres (incidental requests + purchase club bus coupons): schoolbus@hollandseschool.org Special e-mail address for playdate requests: playdates@hollandseschool.org Registrations and cancellations for regular bus contract: reg@gntgroup.org HSL e-mail address Second line support and escalations: busincidents@hollandseschool.org 11