Regarding Compliance of Guidelines for School Transport @ Act Branch Dated 19-05-2011.

[Rakesh Kumar Gupta]

GOVT. OF NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI                                  DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION: SCHOOL BRANCH                                                            OLD SECTT. DELHI-110054.     No.DE.23(47)/School Br./2004/66942-66988                        Dated:-18.11.2005                                                               O R  D E R                         In continuation of this office order No.DE.23(47)/School Br./2004/14541-16540, dated 22.09.2004, all the Head of Schools are directed to adhere to the guidelines for School Transport detailed below:-                Guidelines for School Transport:               1.         No educational  institution bus or an omnibus transport vehicle, as referred to in sub-rule (1) of rule 7-B, being used for the purpose of transporting school students shall ply unless:-             (a)   It carries a complete list of the school children showing in respect of each student indicating the  name, class, residential address and points of stoppage for his/her embarkation and disembarkation near his/her residence against his/her name.  This list will also indicate the route plan duly attested by the head of the educational institution showing the places of origin termination and detailed route it has to follow.   2.         In view of the provisions quoted above, all heads of Govt. and recognized schools are hereby directed as follows:-   (i)                 They should make available to their bus  contractors and /or bus operators full particulars of the children on board as required by rule 95 A(a) of DMV Rules, 1995 so that, in the event of a tragic occurrence, the particulars of those on board are readily available and also so that transportation of children to and fro the school is carried out with responsibility and systematically and not in on ad-hoc manner; (ii)               In the event of contingencies as breakdown of a particulars vehicle, the substitute vehicle should have on board a written and duly dated authorization from the Principal or senior officer of the school regarding the specific contingency; and The  manifest of children and their other particulars would not need to be updated everyday on account of absentees etc.     -2-   3.         Attention of heads of all Government and recognized schools is invited to this Office order No.F.17/3/98/Vol.II/1061-75, dated 23.07.1998 which in Para 6 contains the following direction:-   A teacher/ two bus monitors shall be provided in each school bus to take care of the students while the bus is in operation for to and fro journey to school.  A class XI/XII student should be the bus monitor.   4.                     (i)         The driver of a school bus or any other omnibus transport vehicle being used for the purpose of a school, should have a minimum of 5 years experience of driving a vehicle of the category that is being driven.                 (ii)               The driver should not have been challaned  more than twice in a calender year on account of violation of stop line or violating the Rule 111 requiring driving within the bus lane/track, or  violating the restriction in respect of overtaking or jumping red lights or violating parking regulations or allowing unauthorized persons to drive. (iii)             The driver should be dressed in a uniform of grey trousers and jacket with name place on which is name and name of the owner of the vehicle are distinctly embossed. (iv)             The driver should not have been challaned or charged with the offence of over speeding, drunken driving, driving dangerously rash driving or riding on a public way, causing hurt or grievous hurt by an act of endangering life or personal safety or other culpable homicide or the IPC. (v)               Such school owned/ hired buses should have a board of size 400 mm* 400mm secured firmly on the front and the rear exterior of the vehicle for display of the fact that the vehicle is being used for the purpose of a school.  The colour of the board should be golden yellow on which an iconographic representation of two school children (one girl and one boy) shall be painted or height not less than 250 mm in black colour. Below this, the words ‘school bus’ shall be written in black colour and the height of letter must be at least 100 mm and width of the type must be at least 16 mm. (vi)             The bus should be fitted with doors which can be closed and such doors shall be kept closed when the vehicle is in motion. (vii)           The driver should be accompanied with a conductor holding effective conductor’s licence.      -3-   (viii)         The driver of such vehicles should hold a valid driving licence and an authorization card.  The authorization card shall be displayed conspicuously in the vehicle. (ix)             Driver of all such buses should not be allowed to work for more than 8 hours in a day and 48 hours in any week providing rest of at least half an-hour after work of 5 hours. (x)               Every vehicle shall carry a suitable photograph of authorized driver duly certified by the RTA/STA. (xi)             The owner of the bus and Principals should ensure that every school bus carries a suitable photograph of the authorized driver. (xii)           It should be ensured that the driver has undergone a training programme at DTC depot Nand Nagri.  No driver without this training should be allowed to continue on the duty day of school bus. (xiii)         Such a vehicle being used for transporting students should not carry more than one and  half times the number of passengers authorized in the registration certificate. (xiv)         In the beginning and thereafter every six months the Principals shall obtain a certificate from the owner of the bus that the speed governors fitted in the bus is in working order so as to ensure that the school buses do not exceed the speed limit of 40 K.M. per hour. (xv)           The Principal of the schools which have owned/hired the buses or would be owning/hiring the buses for carrying school children shall give the following information by 30th April each year to this Directorate through Dy.Director concerned:- (a)               Number of children who have registered for school transport. (b)               The description of type of vehicle engaged for school transport. (c)                The cumulative seating capacity  of each type of vehicle engaged and the number of children allowed to travel in each vehicle. (xvi)         Such transport vehicles should have horizontal window steel bars fixed on the exterior of the bus in such a manner that the distance between any two bars does not exceed 20 cms. (xvii)       Every such transport vehicle should carry a complete list of the school children showing their names class, residential address, points of stoppage for embarkation and disembarkation alongwith  a route plan duly attested by the Head of the Educational institution indicating the place of origin.  Termination and detailed route it has to follow.      -4-   (xviii)     The vehicle should not be of more than 5 years old from the date of its first registration. (xix)         The educational institution bus should be painted in golden yellow colour with a stripe below the window panel and the stripe shall be of colour distinctive of the school and 25 cms in width. (xx)           The first step of the board of such a bus should be at a height of not exceeding 325 mm from the ground and all steps are fitted with non-slip treads. (xxi)         The bus should be equipped with convex cross mirrors and also with large parabolic rear view mirror. (xxii)       The bus should be provided with hand rails along the steps at the front door which shall also be used both as entry and exit door. (xxiii)     The bus should have vertical stanchions approximately spaced from each other and firmly routed to the roots and surface of the stanchions and floor of the vehicle should be made of material which is non-slippery. (xxiv)     The bus should not be fitted with any pressure horn or with any other device or producing tonal sound. (xxv)       The bus should be equipped with first-aid box & fire extinguisher. (xxvi)     The bus should have a provision for bag racks under the seats. (xxvii)   The bus should have amber flashing lights on the top 4 corners in the exterior which shall be activated when the vehicle is stopped for mounting or alighting of its occupants. (xxviii) Boarding and deboarding  of the children should be within the school premises  where sufficient space is available,                                                                                                     sd/- ( Dr.M.C.Mathur )       Addl.Director of Education (Schools)     -5-   No.DE.23(47)/School Br./2004/66942-66988                        Dated:-18.11.2005               Copy forwarded for information and necessary action to:-   1.                  Dy. Commissioner of Police Traffic:HQ, 1st floor, P.S.R.K.Puram, Sec-12, New Delhi. 2.                  Secretary (STA), State Transport Authority, 5/9 Under Hill Road, Delhi with reference to his letter No.F.21/Secy(STA)/97/Pt.file/21189, dated 30.6.05 with the request to send a consolidated report concerning Transport/Education and Traffic Police to OSD to Lt. Governor, Delhi.        3.                  Joint .Director of Education (Act). 4.                  All Dy.Directors/Education Officers 5.                  P.S. to Minister of Education. 6.                  P.S. to Secretary Education, 7.                  P.S. to Director of Education 8.                  Incharge Computer Cell.                                                              sd/- ( Neelam Verma )                                                                                Asstt. Director of Education (Schools)