Vijayawada: RTA officials on Monday seized one school bus and booked cases on owners of another 14 buses found flouting safety rules.
According to deputy transport commissioner Ch. Shivalingaiah, cases were booked against managements of 14 schools who were plying the buses without proper safety or fire fighting equipment, first aid kits, or emergency doors that were not functioning properly.
Shivalingaiah said that some buses were found not having eligible or certified drivers, while others were booked for transporting excess number of students.
The bus that was seized did not have a fitness certificate. A majority of the 14 buses belonged to the owners of schools in Vijayawada, while three others belonged to schools in the suburbs, the DTC said.
Shivalingaiah said that the RTA will continue to regularly check the school buses and take action against those who violate the rules.
“Following the orders of the state transport authority, we conducted the raids when the buses were returning to schools after dropping students,” he said.
Meanwhile, parents reacted to the news, expressing their dismay that the managements were plying the buses without proper safety measures, even though they were paying thousands of rupees a year in fees and transport.
As per the RTA rules, school buses should have driven only by a person with more than five years of experience and aged below 60.
However many schools are flouting these rules and are employing drivers aged over 60 years. Many buses do not have grills fixed to the windows and first aid kits, which is mandatory.
Besides, a majority of the school buses are said to transport more students than the number of seats in the bus.
