Illegal school transporters in focus after incidents

The Delhi government has directed all schools here to discourage parents from hiring private vans to ferry their wards, claiming that most of these vehicles operate illegally and pose a threat to safety of children.

The government’s directive to schools to sensitise parents on the issue comes after incidents in which the life of students was put in danger by private vehicles due to non-adherence to motor vehicles laws.

“It is observed that for transportation of schoolchildren in Delhi primarily three modes of transport are being used — vehicles owned by the educational institutions, vehicles hired by the educational institutions and vehicles hired by parents or guardians themselves,” the Directorate of Education (DoE) said in a letter to schools.

Overloaded

The first two modes of transport are easy to monitor and it has been observed that the operators, generally, follow the guidelines regarding transportation and safety of schoolchildren under the Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993, it said.

However, the DoE said, “A majority of private vehicles hired by parents themselves are observed to be operating illegally without taking adequate safeguards towards the safety of schoolchildren, thus jeopardising the lives of schoolchildren.”

The directorate further observed that “most of these vehicles are overloaded and are plied dangerously and [are driven] recklessly at great speeds in utter disregard to traffic rules and regulations.”