Meet Begoña Martinez de Salinas

Have you already met Begoña Martinez de Salinas? Begoña manages our bus service, transporting 350 students, using 26 bus lines. In addition to this, she is in charge of ad-hoc transport, the coordination of the extra-curricular activities and private tuition. We had a chat with her to learn the secret behind juggling with ease.

What is the challenge with this job?

We try our best to accommodate for all the children and parent’s requests in terms of routes and time schedules. However, there are unforeseen events out of our control: sudden bad weather, a road accident or a puncture can greatly affect the best laid-out plan. When such things occur, we try to be proactive and inform parents as quickly as possible. The idea is to optimise the service by being creative and flexible within the limits imposed by the resources available. We always try to find a workable solution! In this job you learn to live by the proverb: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.”

What do you like most about it?

It is very rich and diverse and no day is the same. You need to be able to deal with unforeseen events and act swiftly. There is an element of planning, cost control, logistics, people management, customer service and -last but not least- direct contact with the children. I always try to make them understand that the bus is an extension of the school and the same values of respect and safety apply. I like to think that this is also part of education and that I am contributing to that.

Every time there is an excursion, a sports trip or simply a daily trip back home after school, there are a lot of people that make it all possible and I am very proud to be part of this team.