Rural school transportation in emerging countries: The Brazilian case

The lack of proper policies for the rural environment, in contrast to the situation in the urban environment in Brazil, has prevented the rural population from benefiting from basic infrastructure and access to their rights as citizens. The poor school transportation conditions are large barriers to access and retention of pupils in schools. These poor conditions, with lack of comfort and high accident risks, result in long travelling hours to reach the school and lessen learning performance because the children arrive in the school tired and sleepy. The Brazilian Federal Government has adopted different programs and actions in order to overcome these difficulties and to improve school conditions in general. A new standard vehicle has been adopted, which will be fit for the harsh road conditions in the rural areas, and handbooks have been introduced to help the municipalities and their officials to plan and to contract school transport services. This paper provides an overview of the outlook for rural school transportation in Brazil, describing the operational conditions (including trip and vehicle conditions) and their users, as well as analysis on the effects on school performance, and also the role of the local and Federal governments.