The Consell Comarcal del Ripollès has opened the application period for school transport and dining services, emphasizing their importance for rural areas. 383 school transport requests have been received for the upcoming academic year, a figure slightly higher than last year. Of these, 296 are for the free interurban transport and 87 for urban transport for users from Ripoll, Beget, Batet, Colònia Noguera, and Colònia Estabanell.
Transport cards, plastic cards with a chip and QR code, will be distributed at the start of the academic year. These will enable attendance control via a mobile application for monitors starting next Tuesday. The Education department has established sixteen school transport routes, maintaining the same number as the previous year, and anticipates possible modifications if more applications are received. Seven new stops have been added on various roads in the region, including the GIV5211 (R5), Can Vert (R6), the junctions of Guinell and can Reiano (R7), Carrer Tornalls (R9), Aigua de Ribes (R12), and Molló (R14), while five have been removed.
Regarding the dining service, the Consell Comarcal manages those for all eleven public schools in the region, including seven rural school zones (ZER). Currently, 1,175 students have applied for the service, forty more than last year. Applications can be submitted in person or online via the website ripolles.cat/ensenyament, attaching the bank details form.
These services, managed by the Consell Comarcal since 1989 by delegation from the Departament d’Educació de la Generalitat de Catalunya, include the awarding of the dining service, the creation of the school transport route map based on demand, contracting with bus companies, and inspecting their proper functioning. Funding comes from the Catalan government. Additionally, the Consell offers a third line of aid to supplement dining costs for families receiving 70% aid.
