Breather for school bus operators

Updated on: Friday, June 17, 2011

In a bid to accommodate some of the suggestions made by bus operators, schools and parents, the transport department has decided to extend implementation of the school bus safety policy by a few more months. The move came after the bus operators demanded an extension of a year to make the changes in keeping with the norms prescribed.

“We are glad that the transport department is finally taking into consideration our plight. We had asked for a year’s extension but have not yet been told how much time we will get,” said Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA). Garg received a fax from the department on Wednesday evening, which mentioned some of the amendments that would be incorporated in the policy. One of the suggestions relates to the requirement that drivers be domiciled in the state for at least 10 years. “A driver who has been domiciled in the state for five years can be hired now. This is a welcome relief,” said Garg. Around 10 such changes have been mentioned in the fax.

In March, the transport department had released the final draft of the school bus safety rules. At a meeting of school heads, parents, bus operators as well as officials from the transport and education departments, various provisions of the policy were discussed.

“We needed time to incorporate the changes. Also, we had to increase bus fees to meet the costs. Parents were not happy about that,” said a bus operator. Indrani Malkani, a member of the committee to draft the norms under the new policy, said, “The implementation process will take around six months and the education department needs to act on this at the earliest.” Despite repeated calls and SMSes, transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav was unavailable for comment.

Breather for school bus operators

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