The Education Ministry has downplayed reports of chaos in the new free school transport service to start next week, saying that parents are being notified of how the system is to operate by the service providers.

In a statement, the ministry said that after applications were received from parents wishing to make use of the service, the routes were planned. This year, the number of public school students making use of the system will be 1,500 more than last year, which means more vehicles are needed. Until Tuesday, some 14,000 parents had been notified.

In the Church and private school sector, the government said that the logistics of the services is not under the ministry’s responsibility, but the ministry is offering its assistance because the number of students to make use of the free services has increased considerably. Some parents have as yet to be notified of the arrangements in place for their children, the ministry said.