Special Buses for Students and University Goers: A Limited Offer
Despite efforts to meet the high demand, the supply of special buses for students and university goers remains limited. Should we consider mobilizing dedicated buses for each university, starting with those in the Greater Tunis area?
According to La Presse, there are approximately 300 million passengers per year using various public transportation means, including regional companies, Sncft, Sahel metro, and Transtu. The number of passengers is increasing by around 10% each year.
Difficulties in Commuting
The student and university population accounts for a significant portion of these passengers. This season, nearly 400,000 students and university goers are expected to use public transportation, occupying more than half of the available capacity.
This year, transportation companies have announced that 65% of their fleet will be dedicated to students and university goers, totaling 2,743 buses, compared to 2,479 last year. Although this is a significant effort, it does not hide the dysfunction in the system. Despite the efforts made by stakeholders, there are still shortcomings to be addressed.
The Idea of University-Owned Transportation Networks
This is why the idea of equipping universities with their own transportation networks is being considered, at least for those in the Greater Tunis area. Students face significant difficulties commuting from their residences to their institutions, and existing transportation means do not offer the desired flexibility.
To travel a distance of less than 20 km, students often need to combine multiple modes of transportation (bus, metro, bus, etc.), which can take over two hours each way. In many cases, this is not possible, and students spend a lot of time and energy on exhausting commutes, which can impact their academic performance.
Carpooling and Renting
Special buses do not always meet the demand, and often run with few passengers on board. The reasons for this are multiple: departure times do not coincide with class schedules, and the frequency of these special buses is limited.
As a result, students who live a few dozen kilometers from their universities are forced to find the most practical and least complicated way to get to their institutions. Some find original but expensive solutions, such as using their parents' cars or their own vehicles to carpool with fellow students from the same town.
Others look for accommodation near their university to avoid daily commutes, but these rentals are often very expensive.
A Proposed Solution
This is why we suggest that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS) and the Ministry of Transport consider launching a program to equip each university (at least those with students living in areas that make normal mobility difficult) with its own transportation means.
Using the geographic database available to universities, it would be possible to identify the number of students in these areas and offer them suitable transportation. This idea deserves to be explored, and we count on the understanding of the parties involved to achieve this goal with the desired openness.
It would be enough to find the best formula to alleviate the suffering of a large number of our students, particularly non-scholarship holders, and even those who are or will be scholarship holders in the coming months, for whom the difficulties are almost insurmountable.
