Measures to regulate the service of buses carrying school students have been intensified in the Northern Province. The Northern Province Road Passenger Transport Authority has warned that strict legal action will be taken against buses engaged in student transport without proper permits.
Chairman of the Northern Province Road Passenger Transport Authority, Engineer C. Vimaleswaran has made this announcement. He emphasized that various instructions have already been issued regarding the buses involved in student transport, and they should be properly followed.
Northern School Buses
School buses need to be operated with more care than normal passenger services. In particular, the authorities have focused on issues such as the age of the bus, its technical qualification and permit.
According to the authority’s notification, the buses used for student services should be less than 15 years old. It has also been informed that 15-year-old buses should obtain appropriate qualification certificate from the Motor Transport Department if they want to continue to engage in student transport.
Its aim is to make the daily commute of students safe. As more number of students travel simultaneously in the morning hours, monitoring the status and service of the buses becomes important. Due to this, a condition has been put forward that old buses should be subjected to appropriate tests.
mandatory to provide fee concession to students
Another important instruction related to student transport is the procedure for providing fare concessions. The authority said that instead of paying the normal fee to the students, they should give specific concessions according to their age.
Accordingly, 25 percent fee concession should be given to students below 12 years of age. It has been advised that 50 percent fee concession should be given to students above 12 years of age. 50 percent fee concession should also be given to university and technical college students.
At the same time, the authority has also mentioned that the full fee should be paid to the teachers. Whether the fee concessions for students are implemented in practice will also be a matter to be monitored in the future.
Bus owners have also been given more time to regulate student transport services. Accordingly, it has been announced that a period of time has been given till October 24th to obtain the necessary permits and properly register the service.
The authority has said that they have to renew the necessary permits for their buses within this period. It has been warned that legal action will be taken against the buses engaged in student transport even after the expiry of the period.
In particular, strict action will be taken against buses that fail to renew their permits after October 24 and they may be seized, said the Chairman of the Northern Province Road Passenger Transport Authority.
This move is seen as important not only for the bus owners but also for the parents of the students. Parents also have to pay attention to the type of bus their children are traveling in, whether the bus has the appropriate permit and whether the safety requirements are fulfilled.
Projects like ‘Sisu Cheriya’ are also being carried out to create a safe transport service for students in the Northern Province. Such services aim to provide safe travel facility to the students and also provide fee concessions.
Therefore, it has become necessary for the bus owners involved in student transport services to use the allotted time and get the necessary registrations and permits properly. Similarly, norms related to the age and technical qualifications of the buses should also be followed.
As the authority has announced that the legal action will be intensified after October 24, the bus owners currently engaged in student services have to ensure that all their documents and permits are correct.
The daily safe journey of students is not only the responsibility of parents and schools. Bus owners, drivers, conductors and concerned authorities involved in the journey also have an important role to play in it. If the rules are properly followed, the traffic related hazards that the students may face can be reduced.