RTO to carry out drive to check illegally running school autos, vans and buses

Pune RTO cracks down on school transport vehicles, forming squads to monitor 5,000 vehicles and penalise violators who endanger children's lives.

The Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) has initiated a drive against school transport vehicles including mini-buses, vans and autorickshaws that ferry school children to schools and back. Considering recent incidents involving illegally operated vehicles, the authorities are keen to penalise violators who endanger the lives of children. The RTO has formed four squads to monitor around 5,000 such vehicles operating across the city and issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday.

Students in the school van near Dandekar Bridge on Tuesday. (Kalpesh Nukte/HT PHOTO)

In August, a school bus met with an accident near Kondhwa, wherein four students and the bus driver suffered injuries. Following the event, the traffic department urged school principals to advise parents to hire vehicles registered as ‘school cabs’ only for the safety of their wards.

It is common for van owners to transport 12-15 children in a single trip, and many of the drivers have been caught driving recklessly in the city.

Sanjeev Bhor, Pune regional transport officer, said the vehicle drivers must carry fitness certificates along with them all the time.

“We urge all the transport organisations and vehicle owners to get the fitness certificate procedure done at the earliest. Apart from that, we have received several complaints from parents about safety-related violations. We started a drive against such vehicles in the city and found some of them without registration papers and driving licences. Vehicles should not be overloaded and must carry first aid boxes and other necessary safety measures,” he said.