Parents paying for school transport are angry after one of the van companies raised its prices to such an extent that tax rebates meant to encourage parents to use the vans have become irrelevant.
The government introduced a tax credit of up to €150 in the 2014 Budget (depending on number of children). Now, those using Coop Services Ltd are complaining that the increase in its prices have rendered the incentive useless.
The parents who complained claimed the price increases varied between €50 and €70 per child. They questioned what could justify this, given the decrease in fuel prices in recent months.
“Some years ago, when fuel prices were increasing drastically, they had the right to increase their fees, but now? It’s shameful,” one parent said.
Another parent said that while he would be getting a rebate of €100, following the price change he would have to fork out an additional €70.
Reacting to the complaints, a spokesman for the company confirmed the price increase and said that this had nothing to do with the government’s incentive.
“The allegation that the increase is equivalent to the tax rebate is being wholly refuted and any similarity which there may be between the two is purely coincidental,” a company spokesman said.
“Every service provider increases its tariffs from time to time in order to be able to meet its operational costs, and Coop Services Limited is no exception,” he said.
Asked whether the decrease in fuel prices should be reflected in the prices, the spokesman said the company had other operational costs that had not decreased.
“The daily traffic congestion on our roads – which results in our vans being stuck in traffic for a longer period of time or having to resort to taking longer routes in order to arrive at their destination – zeroes out any relief from the decrease in fuel prices, for the simple fact that there is more consumption and hence more expenditure on fuel.”
The spokesman said that the company had been absorbing increases in costs from its own funds for a number of years as part of its normal policy.
These included the modernisation of the company’s fleet, as well as an increase in wages to cover cost-of-living increases, the spokesman said.
For the past few years, the government has been evaluating different options in an attempt to alleviate the traffic problem that worsen during the early hours of the morning and afternoons as parents head out to pick their children from school.