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With school holidays starting on December 4, a colleague sought my take on whether I would pay for my kids’ school transport next month.
I mean there will be only three school days in the new month and her bone of contention was whether she should pay towards her kid’s transport or not.
I am in the same predicament as my kids also use school transport and I know the owner is already banking on me to give him money for December – as he has always asked me.
Nna, I thought it was a pay-as-you-go kind of arrangement.
It is even worse because this month the kids are hardly at school as they opt to stay at home after completing their exams.
The challenge is, more often, the owners don’t say beforehand whether December is included in the arrangement.
But as parents we are also to blame because we don’t ask questions in advance as we don’t think properly ahead of time.
So it becomes a problem when owners demand their dues and we feel they are greedy.
Do we even think or know what we are paying for? I doubt it.
The same applies on other school holidays, particularly in July, as our kids spend the first two weeks of the month at home and yet we are expected to pay for the entire month – even though they use the service for only two weeks.
You see, paying in advance is both good and bad for both parties.
We are expected to pay upfront and if you fail to do so your kids will be stranded as drivers will leave them behind.
This works well for owners as they have us where they want.
But tell them about pro rata, as in this case, and they will not budge. All they know is that payments – in full – must be made, irrespective of how many times they ferry our kids.
But who is to blame in this case?
To be honest, they have bills to pay – whether the kids are there or not – and more often than not their only means of income is what we pay them.
Are we fair on them when we don’t pay because they will not be rendering their services or is it a case of you are on your own?
I remember my late uncle used to buy a monthly bus ticket – even during the months he was not going to work the entire month.
But then it was cheaper buying a monthly ticket than a weekly one – irrespective of how many weeks in a month.
As it is, I already know the transport owner will be knocking on my door asking for somethingnyana for December.
I have done it before – out of goodwill – and will probably do it again. But is it the way to go or is he really entitled to my money?
By the way, I have not yet responded to my colleague. I guess our circumstances will be different.
I would say she must go with her conscience as there is no right or wrong answer. It’s her call.
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