JEDDAH: At the beginning of this school year, students' transportation fees in Jeddah went up by up to 21.4 percent, with the price for transportation per student per month having increased from SR700 to SR850.
The increase in prices is due to the high cost of vehicle insurance, rise in employee wages and the increased demand for this service at the beginning of the current school year, said Abdulrahman Al-Motlaq, owner of a transport company for female students.
Mohammed Al-Zahry, director of a transport company for male and female students in Jeddah, said transportation fees for the current year have gone up by between 15 and 20 percent compared to the previous year.
"The transport cost is currently SR750 per month while it was SR650 last year," he said, adding that the high cost is due to the rise in employee wages, in addition to the increasing demand for transportation, especially at the beginning of the school year.
Several parents expressed their dissatisfaction with the higher transportation costs for their children.
Abu Khalid Al-Zahrani said that "such rise affects the budget of Saudi families and puts an additional financial burden on the head of the family."
Al-Zahrani urged the Ministry of Education to provide appropriate means of transportation for all regions of the Kingdom, or contract major companies and have students pay only nominal monthly transportation fees.
The increase in prices is due to the high cost of vehicle insurance, rise in employee wages and the increased demand for this service at the beginning of the current school year, said Abdulrahman Al-Motlaq, owner of a transport company for female students.
Mohammed Al-Zahry, director of a transport company for male and female students in Jeddah, said transportation fees for the current year have gone up by between 15 and 20 percent compared to the previous year.
"The transport cost is currently SR750 per month while it was SR650 last year," he said, adding that the high cost is due to the rise in employee wages, in addition to the increasing demand for transportation, especially at the beginning of the school year.
Several parents expressed their dissatisfaction with the higher transportation costs for their children.
Abu Khalid Al-Zahrani said that "such rise affects the budget of Saudi families and puts an additional financial burden on the head of the family."
Al-Zahrani urged the Ministry of Education to provide appropriate means of transportation for all regions of the Kingdom, or contract major companies and have students pay only nominal monthly transportation fees.
