“It is something you will remember throughout your life,” says Archana Patney about the experience of making friends while riding the bus to school. She opted for the school bus for her older child, but not for her younger one. She is among the many parents in Mumbai who have to make this important decision come June every year.

The Maharashtra Transport Department is set to introduce new regulations for school buses in the upcoming academic year, with a committee led by retired transport officer Jitendra Patil tasked with drafting these measures.

This decision follows a series of crimes against children on school premises and the concerns of parents over rising bus fees. The existing framework for school bus safety has many gaps, along with a lack of implementation of the current rules. Addressing these issues will ensure that children are safe during their commute and will reassure parents about the safety and accessibility of school buses. So, what should the new regulations include?

Features mandatory in a school bus

Currently, school bus operators follow the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles (Regulations for School Buses), Rules, 2011. Following the sexual abuse of two kindergarten students at a school in Badlapur, a committee comprising officials from the School Education and Sports Department and the Women and Child Development Department was formed in August 2024.

In its report, the committee recommended four points in addition to the 2011 rules, one of which is the placement of CCTV cameras inside school buses. The committee also recommended that women be employed to drop off and pick up students under six years old, that schools with female students have female attendants, and that police verification be required for the driver, cleaner, and attendant.

Presence of CCTV in school buses

Some parents that Citizen Matters spoke to point out that school buses their children use are already equipped with features like fire extinguishers and GPS tracking devices, which are connected to a mobile app. Vrushali Chauhan, whose children were taking the school bus till a few years ago, emphasises the importance of fitting a CCTV camera and ensuring that it works, with regular checks. “This is particularly important for the child who is dropped off last,” she says.

Moreover, dangers in school buses can take different forms such as bullying by older children and physical fights among students. Priti Surve (name changed), both of whose daughters have used the bus, says she has noticed that some children bully their schoolmates and also the attendants, ignoring their instructions to sit and, at times even using abusive language. Priti believes that the presence of a CCTV camera could deter such behaviour.

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To bus or not to bus

An amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Act defines school buses as vehicles with a seating capacity of thirteen passengers or more, excluding the driver. Despite this, vans with a capacity of less than thirteen are often seen dotting roads outside schools. 

Archana agrees that school buses are a safer option compared to vans. When her daughter attended a school in Goregaon, she preferred having her travel from Vile Parle by school bus. But when Archana transferred her daughter to a school in Juhu, she opted for a van because the school bus could not navigate the relatively narrow lane where they live, especially during the monsoons.

School bus drivers often struggle to navigate narrow spaces and pick up students. Niyaz Ahmed, the PRO of the School Bus Owners Association, explains that when buses wait outside students’ homes, residents often complain to the traffic department about road blockage, even if it’s just for a few minutes. This leads to heavy penalties for the bus operators.

Niyaz also laments the lack of infrastructure such as parking spaces for buses. “Where should we go?” he asks. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has parking spaces, but private school buses don’t always get a slot there. In an attempt to find a solution, the association rented an open ground from MHADA for parking, only to encounter another issue — the residents of the nearby building complained that they were disturbed when the drivers started the buses early in the morning.

Affordability of school fees

A reason for the proliferation of illegal vans is their affordability. Gunwant Nikam, the Assistant RTO of the Andheri Regional Transport Office (RTO) admits that such vans are in operation and says that the RTO cracks down on them during routine checks on the road. However, he pointed out that not all parents can afford school bus fees or have the means to personally drop their children at school, leaving them with no choice but to rely on these vans. He suggested a comprehensive and well-designed safety policy similar to the one established for buses, to regulate vans.

While parent bodies have questioned why they are forced to pay bus fees for twelve months when bus operators provide services for only ten months, bus operators have their reasons for this. “Who is going to take care of the drivers in these months?” asks Niyaz. He justifies the entire year’s charges, saying that even during the two-month summer vacation, bus operators have to spend on maintenance, taxes and other payments.

Beyond safety equipment

Beyond the physical accoutrements required to ensure students’ safety lie factors like bullying. Training and sensitisation of all the stakeholders is necessary. Vrushali says, “We are talking about the kids’ safety but we must also make sure that kids don’t abuse the staff.”

Parents, whose influence is as strong if not stronger than that of the school, often refuse to believe attendants when they complain about the poor and arrogant behaviour of children on the bus, observes Priti.

Sensitisation sessions for children as well as parents will empower the attendants to do their job better. Shagun Luthra, whose children attend a school in the western suburbs, is part of the bus committee of her children’s school. She conducts training for the female attendants every year, a step necessary for smooth coordination between the transport committee and the bus staff. 

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Training of another kind could prove crucial to saving the lives of everyone on the bus — emergency training such as fire drills. The 2011 regulations state, “In case of emergency, the school bus driver and the attendant shall inform the school authorities about the incidence and make necessary arrangements for the safety of the school children.” But, it does not specify what kind of arrangements or plans have to be in place.

For instance, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, school buses must have emergency doors. In keeping with that school buses have emergency exits, but all children may not know about them or how to operate them.  Especially where children are concerned, preparation is key to avoiding chaos and the ensuing danger. Emergency drills, similar to school mock drills, must be conducted regularly on buses.

The new regulations must take into account all these multiple factors and the interests of all the stakeholders.

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