Safety measures on school buses from June 1,says minister

Vikhe-Patil was in the city to hold a meeting with the representatives of bus transporters,school authorities on views pertaining to the safety measures in school buses. The meeting was held at Pune District Central Co-operative Bank.

However,the minister also suggested that these school bus operators could utilise the time till June for fitting the rear emergency doors in school buses.

The issue of safety measures in school buses came to the fore after an accident in Panvel that claimed five lives in August. Waking up after the tragic incident,the Regional Transport Office (RTO) had hastily issued directions to school bus operators to put in place all the necessary safety measures,including fire extinguisher,window grills,first-aid box,emergency doors,among other things. However,the bus owners had sought more time to do so.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting,Vikhe-Patil said,“We are in the process of framing a final policy for school buses. Therefore,we have started holding meetings and collecting views of various sections to take into consideration the pros and cons of the proposed safety measures. The first meeting took place in Mumbai,and after the Pune meet,a third meeting will take place in Nagpur.”

Speaking about the problem of some schools restricting entry to school buses inside their premises,the minister said,“It is not proper on the part of the school administrations to make the buses or other vehicles that ferry school children wait outside the school premises to drop or pick up the students. The schools cannot use public road for this purpose.”

A transporter at the meeting said the metal nets outside the glass-windows should not be made mandatory,as it would prove to be a bane during times of crisis. Another transporter said the fitness of the buses should be given prominence than the age.