The School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA) has threatened to stop services if the government does not implement a policy that brings school vans under the ambit of law.
The School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA) has threatened to stop services if the government does not implement a policy that brings school vans under the ambit of law. The association has said that they are being forced to resort to extreme measures as their fleet of 7,500 buses in Mumbai and Thane get penalised for flouting norms, but school vans that do not conform to any rules are plying without any problem. SBOA has said that the situation has arisen as the government is delaying implementation of the new policy that was prepared six months ago.
Speaking about the problem, Anil Garg, president of SBOA said that they were not against school vans, but only wanted to ensure that the vans followed rules for the safety of the students they ferried. “The number of vans ferrying school children are almost equal if not more to the number of school buses in the city and Thane. However, a majority of them do not have permits and even if they have permits flout other norms that can become a cause for concern for the safety of the children travelling by these vehicles,” said Mr Garg.
The norms usually flouted by school vans include drivers not wearing uniforms or badges, absence of attendants, lack of safety net on the windows, insufficient space in between seats, students being made to sit on seats placed on CNG cylinders and overcrowding. Mr Garg said that if school buses are found guilty their drivers are immediately fined and their permits withdrawn. At times the permit of the buses are also withdrawn.
“The transport department had convened a meeting of all stakeholders that included representatives of school van groups and prepared a policy six months back. However, the policy that brought vans under the ambit of law is not being implemented and hence we are giving the government a fortnight to implement the policy or we will have to take our buses off the road,” said Mr Garg, adding that some school managements were also demanding the implementation of the policy immediately.
Gautam Chatterji, state secretary, additional charge transport and ports said that the policy was undergoing changes based on the feedback of stakeholders in the meeting convened by him. “The policy was not prepared in the meeting, but is now being prepared by the officials. Once the final draft is ready and receives the requisite approvals it will be implemented,” said Mr Chatterji.
