The state transport ministry said on Tuesday that the government was keen to implement decision on the new school bus policy from this academic year itself.
As most of the schools reopen today, the state transport ministry said on Tuesday that the government was keen to implement decision on the new school bus policy from this academic year itself.
“The school bus policy has been announced and I recently took a review meeting of senior officials in all districts of the state. I have directed them to keep buses with all the safety features and accessories as per the new policy. There are guidelines for modifications of autos too, if students are ferried in them,” minister of state for transport Gulabrao Deokar said.
Under the new rule, an operator will have to obtain a special permit from an RTO to run a school bus and set up a special district school bus safety committee. The panel will monitor issues related to safety of schoolchildren during travel.
Many schools are still to form the stipulated panels, and bus operators in the city had threatened a fee hike, if they had to implement all the new accessories.
The state Motor Vehicles (Regulations for School Buses) Rules, 2011, calls for a committee for every school. “Every school should have a transport committee to look into safety, transport, fee structure, identification of bus stops, verifying fire safety, permit documents etc headed by principal and one PTA representative, traffic inspector, RTO official, education officer, local authority representative,” it adds.
“The bus should not be more than 15 years old from the date of initial registration in state, but in Mumbai, it should not be more than eight years old and run on CNG.”
The rule specifies that the vehicle should carry a complete list of children. It should have female attendants in case the bus is ferrying girls.
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