School transport to come under Regional Transport Office lens

LUCKNOW: The Regional Transport Office is all set to start a drive to streamline school transportation in the city. Under the drive, to be launched shortly, school vehicles including vans and buses will be checked for safety norms and the necessary permits. "Though we are checking vehicles at this point of time also, within a couple of days we will start a massive drive and intensify it," said Sanjay Nath Jha, ARTO (enforcement), Lucknow. Last Friday, at least five school vehicles were seized by the enforcement officers for unauthorised operation. The vehicles were either operating without the mandatory school permit, which is needed to operate a vehicle as a school vehicle, or had their permit expired and due for renewal.RTO has run similar drives, on a larger scale, earlier too. But, it's the huge gap between the follow up action, which has almost undone the impact created by the drive then. The officers agreed that the action should have been more consistent. This time around, RTO will focus on all the schools of the city from Monday morning. The officers are not spilling the beans about which schools they will start the drive from, as that might keep defaulters off-road during the day.RTO has ordered on earlier occasions that vehicles more than 15-year-old should not ply as school vehicles, as they tend to get physically unfit. The unfit vehicles jeopardise the safety of school children and hence it is the collective responsibility of drivers/owners of vehicles, parents who send their children in such vehicles and schools that allow such vehicles to function as a means of transportation for their students, to keep a check on plying of unfit vehicles.But, so far this collective effort has been missing.The drive aims to check vehicles on safety parameter - which means vehicles should be physically fit, have proper number of rods in their windows, have safe LPG/CNG cylinders and have trained and experienced drivers operating them. Besides, the drivers shouldn't over-load the vehicles.On the other hand, RTO has reiterated its appeal to the parents to verify antecedents of school vehicle, which they have fixed for transportation for their children, Call up RTO office at 2436445 in case parents come across any anomaly, check permit and fitness details of vehicle.