School transport in Rome for private and international schools

A private or international school in Rome draws pupils from half the city. Families live in Monteverde, Parioli, EUR, along the Via Cassia, sometimes beyond the Raccordo (the Grande Raccordo Anulare ring road), and at 08:00 each of them faces different traffic. School transport in Rome, when the school organises it with a private company, does exactly this: it takes dozens of cars off the streets around the school and gets the children to class at the same time, every day.

We have run this service for Rome schools for years, with our own vehicles and drivers, the same ones we use for coach and bus hire in Rome. Below we look at how an ongoing service for a school is set up, from collecting addresses to the contract.

Who already relies on us for school transport in Rome

We have multi-year school transport contracts with Rome International School and Acorn International School. These contracts have defined service levels (SLAs). In an agreement of this kind you set out in writing, for example, what happens if a vehicle breaks down, how quickly the replacement arrives and how delays are reported to the school.

For a school office this is the place to start. A daily service running nine or ten months a year is not judged on the price of a single run, but on what happens on the morning something goes wrong. These cases should be written into the contract, because that is where a supplier is measured. The same criteria apply more broadly to choosing a coach hire company in Rome when you compare several firms.

How the home-to-school route is built

Everything starts from a list: how many pupils use the service, their address or area, start and finish times, and the days with afternoon activities. With this information we group families by area and design one or more routes, with stops and times.

In Rome straight-line distances count for little. Two families a few kilometres apart can be separated by the Tiber, a stretch of the Raccordo or one of the consular roads that jams up in the morning. That is why the route is built on the real roads and should be tested before the start of the year. An example: if school starts at 08:15 and the route has ten stops, the last pick-up cannot be set at 08:05 on the hope of light traffic; you need a margin, which you create by bringing the first stop forward.

Two models work well. The first is door to door, suited to younger children and small groups. The second uses pick-up points in places convenient for several families, such as a square or a local car park: the number of stops goes down and the route becomes more predictable. Many schools use a mix of the two.

The right vehicle for each route

For urban routes with many stops we often use minibuses with driver from 16 to 27 seats, which fit into narrow residential streets and school courtyards. When a route collects many pupils along a single corridor, a 36-seat bus reduces the number of vehicles.

The same supplier can also cover outings during the year: swimming, sports, educational visits and school day trips to destinations near Rome.

For schools that also want a shuttle for events or for links between sites, we run a shuttle service for schools and companies in Rome.

Safety on board and the relationship with families

On the vehicles we use for schools, seat belts are fitted on every seat. Drivers hold a category D licence, an up-to-date CQC (the professional driver qualification card) and specific training for transporting minors. When families are international, we can assign an English-speaking driver.

An escort on board is not included in the standard service. For nursery children and the first years of primary school one is often needed, and we assess it case by case with the school. Before the start of the year it also has to be decided who collects the child at the afternoon stop, and what the driver does if nobody is there: this is a rule the school communicates to families in writing.

For educational outings the rules on school trips by coach also apply, covering the vehicle and driver documents and checks by the Polizia Stradale (the traffic police).

Breakdowns, strikes and difficult mornings

A daily service also has to cope with the bad morning. We have an in-house workshop with our own mechanics, and vehicle maintenance is scheduled. If a vehicle breaks down, we send a replacement: the fleet has more than 100 vehicles that we own.

The number +39 06 4882027 is a direct line and also works for emergencies. The service runs 7 days a week, so we also cover Saturdays with activities, open days and evening returns after a school play or a match. For individual teachers we also organise one-day school excursions and trips. On public transport strike days Rome’s traffic increases and routes may need to start earlier: timing changes of this kind have to be agreed with us beforehand, not on the morning itself. Small variations, such as a 15-20 minute difference, are handled with the driver.

What it costs and how to request a quote for school transport

The cost depends on the number of routes, the kilometres, the type of vehicle and the hours of service per day. The hourly hire rates in Rome are indicative and vary between minibus, bus and Gran Turismo; for an annual service we prepare a tailored quote.

To prepare it we need:

• number of pupils and areas of residence (neighbourhoods or postcodes are enough);
• start and finish times, day by day;
• school calendar and days with afternoon activities;
• whether you need an escort and an English-speaking driver;
• the school address and the pick-up and drop-off point in the courtyard or on the street.

For a service starting in September it is best to start talking in spring, so there is time to test the routes. For schools with a site in Lombardy we organise school transport in Milan from our Lainate base.

Phone: +39 06 4882027. Email: info@toddebus.it.

Frequently asked questions