Saturday, January 23, 2010

The School Bus

School Bus in Bangalore is not better than a van or a matador. They ply like any other vehicle on this road.



The drivers, the management, do not realize the school bus is very special because it carries kids. Neither the city administration nor the police cares about. 



My observations are that school buses ply in high speed like any other vehicle, either in race with other vehicles, or because the road is free or to catch up with the green signal.  The kids do not have support mechanism to hold on to, especially those in the brim of the seats. The aayaa (the attender lady) serves as the conductor. The driver starts the bus moment the kid is put onto the bus even before ensuring the kid finds a seat. Sometimes the bus is overloaded.



The bus fees for 12 months when the school is for only 10 months is a different theme.



Also, in the days of chaos and uncertainty, shouldnt the technology be the answer to some of these?  The bus can have GPS to be tracked. Camera inside the bus transmitted to the school will tell how safe the kids are.



Unlike in other countries, overtaking a school bus is not a crime here.



Beyond school buses, many send their kids in cabs, matadors, autorickshaws etc. The autorickshaws suddenly get mushroomed with school bags and beyond-the-capacity kids.



The police and the government will create 'new rules' only when some 'mega accidents' happen and that too when it gets media attention.

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