Creaky buses & drivers make ride to school a roller-coaster

HYDERABAD: The first six months of 2023 alone have reported eight accidents involving school buses — two of them fatal. In the latest incident a 56-year-old pedestrian was crushed to death at Mir Chowk, raising concern not just over the physical condition of these buses but also on the competency of its drivers.
While police officials squarely blame these accidents on human error, inspections by road transport officials (RTO) have found multiple lapses. These range from poor maintenance of brakes and clutches to use of old tyres and elderly drivers.
“During maintenance checks, we found at least 10 to 20 cases where the tyres and brakes were worn out. These were buses that were plying with children. So, after the trip was completed they were sent to the mechanical wing and rechecked and given fitness certificates,” said a motor vehicle inspector from Ibrahimpatnam zone.
There were also cases of drivers beyond the age of 60 driving these buses. As per rules of RTA, bus drivers have to be below the age group of 60 years and must have five years of experience in driving buses. “Research by organisations like the WHO shows that 90% of such accidents occur because of human error. In these cases as well, drivers have been at fault,” said G Sudhir Babu, additional commissioner of police (traffic), Hyderabad.
According to them, many schools in the city have outsourced their transportation arrangement to third parties without due diligence. As as result, many inexperienced drivers have found their way into this profession. They are frequently seen engaging in rash driving, talking on mobile phones while driving etc. “The onus lies both on the parents and the schools. The latter charge a lot of money in the name of providing transport. But they can’t keep extracting money without any accountability in place. The schools do not share any records of the driver with parents — which they must do, periodically — or make public important details about the fitness of the buses, the complaints received in the past or accident history. Only when something happens and parents actively seek out information, do they offer it,” said K Venkat Sai of Hyderabad Schools Parents Association.
Typically parents shell up 30,000- 50,000 per annum additionally as school bus charges depending on the school
Adding to that, parent of a student studying in a Langar Houz school said, “Recently we saw two bus drivers from our child’s school using mobile phones on two different days. When we escalated the matter they told us the driver was a temporary arrangement and new drivers will come in shortly. There is no mechanism to check or control these lapses unless parents themselves identify them,” said the parent. These temporary arrangements are also due to lack drivers, say some.
Parents have now asked the education wing and RTA to mandate schools to involve parents in fitness process.
According to traffic cops, something on these lines is likely to be implemented in the city soon. “We are planning to conduct a meeting with school management and brief them on best practices to be followed while maintaining school buses and their staffing. These practices include — having a regular set of drivers, checking their health aspects like eyesight every quarter, verifying their licence and vehicle permits with RTA so no fake ones creep in, forming a parents committee to oversee these guidelines and condition of buses, maintaining a complaints book and periodically review it etc,” added Sudhir Babu.