Hyderabad: While the last date for acquiring fitness certificates/inspection of school buses passed on May 15, only 198 (8.2 percent) out of the 2,317 school buses in Hyderabad district reached out to the Road Transport Authority (RTA) for inspection and were issued fitness certificates.
Mr Vinod Kanumala from the Indian Federation of Road Safety (IFRS) said, “School managements need to pay heed to safety regulations. A strict message needs to be conveyed, and non-certified buses should not be allowed to ply on roads. Unfit buses pose a danger to the lives of students, it is a serious issue and must be treated seriously.”
According to the official information received from the RTA, of the 1,222 buses in Khairatabad (Central zone), only 131 buses have acquired fitness certification so far, and of the 156 buses in the West zone, only 18 have been certified at this point.
One parent on condition of anonymity said, “I keep checking with my children’s school bus driver to put my worries to rest, and he says that most buses in the district run without certification and that in the case of the buses that acquire their fitness certificates, new spare parts are installed just prior to inspection following which, they are replaced again with the old ones in order to save money.”
Meanwhile, the RTA is conducting a drive in the city to inspect the school buses. Notices have been issued to all the schools regarding the fitness requirements in the absence of which, unfit buses will be seized.
The transport office has further asked schools to submit all details, including their drivers’ details, through their official website.
