15 school buses penalised as Vashi RTO conducts checks

With schools reopening, Vashi RTO has stepped up checking of school buses for their fitness and permit; of the 1,500 school buses registered with Vashi RTO, 15 have been penalised in the last three days

With schools reopening, Vashi RTO has stepped up checking of school buses for their fitness and permit. Of the 1,500 school buses registered with Vashi RTO, 15 have been penalised in the last three days.

Fifteen school buses have been penalised as Vashi RTO steps up check on fitness and permit. (For representational purposes only) (HT FILE PHOTO)

“We are conducting regular checks at important points for its fitness and permit. The bus owners have been informed beforehand to apply for their fitness and permit in case it has expired. From April 1 onwards, we have received around 18 applications for the renewal of fitness and permit,” Vashi Dy RTO, Hemangini Patil, said.

The school buses are expected to follow the guidelines of the Supreme Court that include having proper grills, emergency exit, first aid, fire extinguisher, maintaining a list of students and their parents’ names and numbers and presence of a female attendant.

Meanwhile, the transport association is upset about the RTO going about checking the vehicles. “For almost two years, the buses were not running. Even now, we were not sure if the schools would reopen and hence many did not repair their buses. The transporters have suffered for two years and now that the schools have reopened, we are asking for some time to get the buses repaired and also get the necessary documentation work done. In many cases, many parts like tyres, steering, gear have been stolen from the buses which were parked for a long time,” Santosh Shetty, advisor of the School Bus Association.