The Municipality of Monchique threatens to buy social passes for secondary school students studying in neighboring municipalities and give up school passes, "if the Government does not intervene in a problem it created with the implementation of the Public Transport Tariff Reduction Support Program."
Rui André, mayor of Monchique, told the Sul Informação that the municipality, in addition to ensuring the transport of all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd CEB students, as well as children attending Pre-School Education, also pays at least 50% of the school passes of students attending Secondary Education , namely in Portimão.
"Since this level of education does not exist in the county, the Council contributes 50% of the travel of all secondary students and, in the case of students in grade B and A, 75% and 100% respectively." added the mayor.
According to Rui André, the school pass costs more than 100 euros a month, which means that, with the municipal contribution of 50%, students and their families still have to pay more than 50 euros.
Since May, Social Passes have a maximum value of 40 euros, thanks to the Public Transport Tariff Reduction Support Program (PART), which makes it cheaper for families to opt for this type of pass than buying one exclusively for students.
Furthermore, the student pass can only be used during the week and during school periods, while the social pass can be used always, without restrictions.
The Chamber of Monchique, added the mayor in his statements to the Sul Informação, will now be able to «fund the entire value of the pass for all students attending secondary education», but «we may choose to purchase social passes for all students as of October, if the Government does not intervene in this process ».
The mayor adds that, in low-density areas, such as the mountains and the Algarve, private companies guarantee transport, constituting, in some cases, "a true social public service", so "it will be essential that the government can compensate the transport company for the difference, since it threatens to suppress some of the current careers, if the local authorities stop buying school passes».
«I spoke with a person in charge of Frota Azul, who told me that, if in the Algarve all school passes are transferred to social passes, the company will have a loss of 1 million euros, since in these more rural areas, school passes are the ones that give sustainability at service'.
In terms of school transport, the municipality of Monchique ensures, free of charge, the daily transport of students between their place of residence and the respective educational establishments, this for all students in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd CEB, who reside more than 3 or 4 kilometers from educational establishments, as well as children attending pre-school education.
«In practical terms, home/school/home travel involves around 60 daily trips by the vehicles that provide this service, totaling 1200 kilometers through the municipality of Monchique, which has an area of around 400 square kilometres, which makes, just in terms of school transport at these four levels of education, a total of 24 thousand kilometers per month and around 300 thousand kilometers per year», revealed Rui André.
In the case of secondary school students, the Chamber contributes 50% of the value of the passes, being able to do so in 75% and 100%, «in a monthly investment of around 12 thousand euros».
For all levels of education, and in accordance with an old protocol between the Ministry of Education and the City Council, the latter receives “a monthly support of around 3 euros to cover all these expenses and for all levels of education. teaching, a value that is frankly insufficient».
It is for all of this that the mayor says he is "pressing" with the minister of Education, requesting "the reinforcement of this amount", since the situation has even been "worsened now with the creation of social passes in the region".
Rui André, who is one of the vice-presidents of AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community, told our newspaper that he had tried, «several times, in AMAL meetings, at a time when social passes and the implementation of PART in the Algarve were being discussed, that school passes for all students in the region were free”.
This should happen “even for the sake of justice”, stresses the mayor. Despite the fact that the municipality, like others in the same situation, «pays a large part of the value of the passes, as secondary education is mandatory, the most correct thing is that the parents of these young people do not have to pay for transport, a situation that has also extended to textbooks that this Municipality offers, long before the government applied the loan program in force». Despite everything, he explained, "the passes ended up staying at the initial value."
For a student traveling from Monchique to Portimão, the price of the pass is over 100 euros, and they can only use this transport during weekdays and during the periods during which school activities take place.
It turns out that, with the implementation of social passes in the region, whose maximum value is now 40 euros, «a huge problem has been created that the City Council wants to overcome. It becomes more attractive, even for the students' parents, to acquire a social pass, since, even though the City Council contributes 50% in most cases, it is cheaper than the school pass».
While this "uncomfortable situation" is not resolved, the Municipality of Monchique will pay the full amount of school passes for the month of September, which students must collect at the services of this municipality.
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