Operators plan strike over new school bus rules

Updated on: Saturday, April 23, 2011

The final notification of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles (Regulations for School Buses) Rules 2011 has brought great joy to parents across the state, but the School Bus Owners Association is far from happy and plans to protest. In a meeting held on Tuesday afternoon, major bus operators in the city decided to go on an indefinite strike from June 1.

“This notification is very different from what we had proposed, many important points have not even been mentioned,” said Anil Garg, president of the association. There’s no mention of private vehicles in the policy or tax exemption for bus operators. Besides, there are other issues. For instance, the number of fire extinguishers essential in a bus has been increased from one to two, while handrails have been made compulsory, added Garg. The notification says school buses should have handrails at the front door and the lowest footboard shall not be more than 220 mm from the ground. The association has written about its concerns to the minister of transport, the Mumbai RTO and the transport commissioner.

However, Indrani Malkani, the brain behind the Model School Bus system and a member of the government-appointed committee to frame the rules thinks the government has done a great job by bringing out the policy so soon. “The transport department did its job by bringing out the policy within two years, now the onus lies on the education department to implement it in schools,” she said.

Malkani had pointed out certain mistakes in the last draft in February, which mentioned a school bus can be any four-wheeler with a seating capacity up to 12. “The point was to have vehicles with a minimum seating capacity of 12, not up to 12. But these changes can be made by the education department while implementing the policy,” she said. Malkani added that minor changes can be made through supplementary Government Resolutions. However, transport commissioner Dilip Jadha told TOI, “All the suggestions that the government received in February were duly considered. The notification that has been recently released is final and no more changes will be incorporated.”

Salient Features

- No owner or operator of a motor vehicle shall use or permit use of the vehicle to ferry school children without a permit signed and approved by a Regional Transport Authority

- Every school should set up a transport committee, headed by the principal with representives from the PTA, education inspector and the like

- School buses will be painted in yellow and display the words School Bus in front and behind. All private transporters buses will have a 400mm yellow strip below window level

- Vehicles in Mumbai should not be over eight years old

- Vehicles should carry a complete list of children on board with their names, class, address, contact number, blood group and stop near his/ her residence

- Every school bus should have an attendant, buses carrying girls should have female attendants

- If an authorised person does not come to pick up a pre-primary student, that child will be taken back to school and parents will be called to fetch the child

- The bus will have a first-aid box and two fire extinguishers

In The Past

June 5, 2005 - Arjun Kanahvle, seven, was crushed under a bus of Mary Immaculate School, Kalina, at Santa Cruz

November 26, 2006 - 10 children from St Mary’s School in Dahisar were injured when the bus driver lost control of the vehicle and rammed into another bus on the Western Express Highway

December 6, 2006 - Nearly 20 students of Nerul-based Delhi Public School received minor bruises as their speeding school bus suddenly tilted in one direction and both its front wheels came off near Vashi toll naka

March 27, 2009 - Vijit Rajan, four, was knocked down by a speeding school bus on SV Road, Borivli while crossing the road with his mother

August 1, 2009 - One student died as the bus caught fire in Panvel

August 21, 2009 - A bus of Changu Kana Thankur High School, carrying 38 children aged 9-14, caught fire on the Sion-Panvel highway, killing and injuring 20

September 24, 2009 - The school bus of Sahakar Prasarak Vidya Mandal’s Sahaydri School in Kharegaon, Thane, caught fire. More than 30 children were rescued by locals

December 12, 2009 - 11 students were injured when two school buses collided at a junction on Palm Beach Road at Navi Mumbai

How The Policy Came About

June 2002: Cathedral and John Connon School implemented the Model School Bus system, designed by activist Indrani Malkani

October 2006: Cathedral and John Connon equipped all its 52 buses with GPS

January 2008: Traffic police sends letters to over 50 schools to implement the new system

September 2008: Committee to help implement the government’s decisions on the Model School Bus system is formed; J B Petit starts implementing the Model School Bus system

June 2010: Other schools implement the system. Podar World School implements the marshal inside the school bus who will control the staff on the bus and see that the school bus policies are followed properly. However, still not many parents from various schools are not in support because this is not free of cost

November 2010: First policy draft issued

Operators plan strike over new school bus rules

More Education news