PUNE: With schools having reopened from this academic year, seeing overly-packed school buses and vans on the roads has become a routine affair. However, the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) is now coming down heavily on school transport vehicles that have not registered with or got their fitness certificate procedure done by the RTO. Between June 1 and June 28, the RTO seized and penalised a total of 17 school vans and 5 school buses, and served notice to their owners. Earlier this month, the Pune RTO had stated that out of the 6,200 registered school transportation vehicles, only half had registered and got their fitness certificate procedure done by the RTO.
Sanjay Sasane, deputy regional transport officer, said, “We have formed four squads of RTO inspectors who daily inspect school buses and vans running on roads. As schools have started, students are being transported by these vehicles and under this checking drive, we mainly check the vehicles’ transport passing, fitness certificate, permit and taxes, condition and most importantly the ‘overload’ factor of students whether it is in accordance with the rules or not. Accordingly, we have taken action against 17 school vans and 5 school buses.”
In the last two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, all school transportation vehicles were non-operational and in 2019, the Pune RTO registered 6,200 vehicles in the Pune division. While from this academic year when schools have physically reopened, around 3,000 school vans and buses have registered and got their fitness certificate procedure done from the RTO till date.
“We have already appealed and conveyed to all school transportation vehicle owners to get their fitness certificate procedure done and only then carry out transportation of students. Still, a large number of vehicles have not yet got their fitness certificate so a drive has been undertaken to check these vehicles across the city by our inspectors,” said Sasane.
{{/usCountry}}“We have already appealed and conveyed to all school transportation vehicle owners to get their fitness certificate procedure done and only then carry out transportation of students. Still, a large number of vehicles have not yet got their fitness certificate so a drive has been undertaken to check these vehicles across the city by our inspectors,” said Sasane.
{{/usCountry}}About the action taken by the RTO against illegal school vehicles, Rajesh Kamble, owner of four school vans, said, “For the last two years due to Covid restrictions, our vehicles were not running due to which there was no business. While now when schools have started, we have had to do their entire RTO-related paperwork but in case of some vehicles, the process is still underway. So our demand is that we get more time to complete the registration and permit process.”