The troubling reality of Bengaluru's school vans

Karnataka’s transport department seems to have turned a blind eye to gross violations committed by private school vans in Bengaluru. This is evidenced by the measly 12 cases registered against private vehicles carrying schoolchildren from April 2022 to March 2023. Instances of these violations are aplenty outside schools. The department, however, has argued that a Karnataka High Court’s writ petition stay in 2022 restricted them from acting on such vehicles that flout rules, which they offer as an explanation to the low numbers. They have, however, taken up a special drive this month to identify both violating school buses and private vehicles ferrying schoolchildren, and have booked a total of 814 cases from July 4 to 26.

In 2013, the transport department notified the Karnataka Motor Vehicles (Conditions for Vehicles Engaged in Transport of Schoolchildren) Rules. The rules stipulate that no motor vehicles can be used as transport vehicles unless the owners and drivers possess a contract carriage permit that will allow them to commercialise their vehicles.

A year later, the department ratified the rules in a circular, laying out the specifications that vehicles ferrying schoolchildren must follow. It clarified that if it is a hired bus, it must prominently display an “On School Duty” sign.

To this day, there exists no provision that legalises private vehicles to modify their vehicles and ferry school children on a fixed fare. This means that all whiteboard private vehicles are operating illegally, right under the noses of the responsible authorities. 

The existing rules in the notification specify the colour, size and seating capacity of these school buses that private vehicles do not adhere to. School cabs must be closed-body vehicles with a hardtop and not a canvas hood, ruling out the possibility of using even yellow-board auto-rickshaws as vehicles to ferry schoolchildren. 

Besides ensuring that all such buses have horizontal grills over windows and reliable door locks, no retrofitting can be made to flout the seating capacity, a violation that is often observed in school vans piling up more than 20 children and making them sit on makeshift seats wherever possible in the vehicle. 

The rules also explain the need for a school cabs safety committee, which should ideally exist in each school involving parents, school administration and transport representatives, but this is rarely the case, noted D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary, Associated Management of Private Schools in Karnataka. 

These committees should look into the safe transportation of children and decide on mutually agreed-upon transportation fees and the routes each van must take. This, too, is a provision that covers only registered yellow-board-bearing yellow buses, not private vehicles. 

He called on the government to take additional measures to regularise and legalise these "illegal" school vans and bus operators. “The government has to form separate enforcement rules to hold them accountable, subsidise their taxes, and ensure that there are support systems in place for them so that they are not booked as violators only to collect fines," he explained. 

Satya Arikutharam, an urban mobility expert, explained that the onus is on all stakeholders to intervene and reduce the safety risk for children. "All stakeholders involved are responsible because there is no law in place to regulate the use of private vehicles to transport schoolchildren. but the existing laws that are being violated are being ignored by authorities."

The 2014 notification by the transport department also instructed all regional transport offices to take strict action against such private vehicles and present a report to the department every 15 days, which hasn’t been happening. 

The monthly charge for each child that travels in a school bus within a 5-km radius of the school is Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 depending on the institution, the area, and the type of vehicle. A private operator might charge much less under agreements drawn up with parents, who might put safety on the back burner for comfort and ease of travel, explained B N Yogananda, president of Karnataka Private Schools and Colleges Parents’ Association Coordination Committee. 

He noted that the onus was on parents to check for safety measures for their children, whilst urging parents, schools and the government to prioritise the safety of children and ensure that the rules in place are strictly enforced along with bringing in a scientific manner for pricing to ensure registered vehicles are affordable and accessible to all.

School vans/buses should have the following:

1) A contract carriage permit.

2) Be painted yellow with a strip of green all around the vehicle.

3) Have horizontal grills on windows and reliable door locks.

4) Have a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher.

5) Not retrofit any extra seats to fit more children.

6) Not exceed its permitted seating capacity, usually 12 + 1 people.

7) Display 'School Bus' on all four sides in white paint, especially the front and back.

8) Have ample space inside the vehicle to keep all school bags and not store them outside it.

9) Have a verified attendant to escort all children safely.