1. The Western Cape Education Department views the neglect of contractors to drop off learners at school in the morning and collect them in the afternoon at the agreed times, in a very serious light as this has a negative impact on the learners’ educational programmes.
2. A penalty clause to counter this kind of malpractice and in terms of which contractors will be penalised, has therefore been incorporated in the transport contract and contractors will be fined as follows:
2.1 When learners are dropped off and collected at the school up to 30 minutes later than the agreed time in the mornings and afternoons, a penalty of 20% of the daily tariff for every bus running late will be deducted from the daily payment.
2.2 When learners are dropped off and collected at the school more than 30 minutes later than the agreed time in the mornings and afternoons, a penalty of 30% of the daily tariff for every bus running late will be deducted from the daily payment.
3. In such cases of malpractice, the following procedure must be followed:
3.1 The following information must be recorded every school day in a register kept specifically for this purpose:
  • Which bus(es) was/were late (in the morning or in the afternoon)

  • The registration number(s) of the bus(es) that arrived late

  • The reason for the delay(s)

  • The time(s) of arrival

3.2 The contractor and the bus driver must be informed as follows:
  • That his or her bus(es) was/were late

  • How much later than the agreed time the bus(es) arrived

  • That the incident will be recorded and the fines imposed. (This aspect is important in possible later disputes regarding deductions for late arrival.)

3.3 At the end of the month, when the contractor’s claim form (WCED 063) is certified by the principal for remuneration purposes, the time(s) of late arrival for every day that the bus(es) was/were late must be indicated on the claim form. A copy of an extract from the register referred to in paragraph 3.1, and on which the school stamp and the signature of the principal must appear, must also be attached to the claim form, and the fact that the copy of the extract is attached must be indicated on the claim form.
3.4 The necessary deductions, calculated as indicated in paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2, must be made by the Education Management and Development Centres (EMDCs). The daily tariff per bus for each contract will be indicated in the letter of acceptance.
3.5 Should there be acceptable reasons for the late arrival, for example, if the bus was involved in an accident, the late arrival must still be indicated on the claim form and the EMDC will have to decide whether the incident was beyond the control of the contractor or not.
4. In the following cases, late arrival will not be attributed to the contractor:
4.1 If the bus(es) was/were involved in an accident
4.2 If the bus(es) had to make detours because of natural disasters like flooding and washaways
4.3 If roads were closed temporarily by a local authority and a detour needed to be made
5. Contractors are expected to keep their buses in a roadworthy condition.
6. An amended claim form, WCED 063, for use from the date of this letter, is attached.
7. Your co-operation will be appreciated.


SIGNED: L.J. ELY
HEAD: EDUCATION
DATE: 2005:02:28

Learner Transport Claim form (WCED 063)  (size: 7 KB)