Pune: Following the exposure of sexual assault on young girls traveling in a school van, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) has initiated a large-scale inspection drive across Pune, focusing on school buses and vans.
This operation aims to ensure that all vehicles used for transporting students strictly adhere to the safety guidelines laid out in the School Transportation Safety Manual.
As part of the initiative, ten specialized teams comprising a total of 20 officers have been deployed to inspect school buses and vans operating across the city.
These inspections are checking various aspects of safety, with particular emphasis on ensuring that each school bus has a female attendant to oversee the safety of children.
Officers are also conducting meetings with school principals to review the current transportation system, offering recommendations, and issuing repeated safety guidelines to address any shortcomings.
Assistant Regional Transport Officer Swapnil Bhosale confirmed that the inspection is focusing not just on routine checks but also on adherence to critical safety measures like the appointment of female attendants, proper seating arrangements, and compliance with load capacity limits.
To streamline the monitoring process, the RTO has set up a dedicated website (https://schoolbussafetypune.org), where schools are required to upload detailed information about their transportation facilities.
The website serves as a central point for schools to log safety compliance data, allowing both parents and the authorities to track the safety status of school transportation.
According to Regional Transport Officer Archana Gaikwad, schools that fail to comply with the established safety regulations could face severe penalties, with violations being referred to the education department for further action.
RTO Action From April to September (Stats):
Type of Action: School Bus/Van Inspection
Vehicles Inspected: 442
Vehicles Found Guilty of Violations: 146
Total Fines Collected: ₹14.89 lakhs
Type of Action: Illegal Student Transportation
Vehicles Inspected: 582
Vehicles Found Guilty of Violations: 192
Total Fines Collected: ₹21.39 lakhs
Vehicles Inspected: 1,024
Total Violations: 338
Total Fines Collected: ₹36.28 lakhs
