Now, common school buses to carry ‘students only’ board

Nearly four months after the common school buses have started operating on city roads, Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) and Education Department have finally taken the first step towards the elementary feature of having designated boards on these buses proclaiming their 'student only' status.

Identifying this as one of the major roadblocks in effective running of these buses, the Education Department has proposed CTU to take measures to ensure that the buses cater specifically to students at the designated timings. In absence of a board indicating that the buses are meant exclusively for school children, these buses meant for government school students have been seen running as composite buses accommodating all passengers.

"Instructions had been given to the conductors to ensure that only students travel inside the buses but they have failed due to the relaxed attitude of the conductors and the passengers picking fights with them if refused boarding," CTU General Manager S P Parmar said. Parmar said the buses will have plates that can be installed for specific hours and removed stating that the buses are meant for school children

He further said that the idea of having scrolling text on these buses cannot work as the text is fed into the computer system the previous evening, and cannot be changed within the day. According to him, the proposal of the Education Department to have a banner across the bus also cannot work as it is only a temporary arrangement.

The CTU is considering having its inspectors visit the stoppages from where students board the buses and around 15 of such inspectors are expected to be designated specific stops to be visited on a rotational basis. The CTU authorities say that lack of awareness about these buses is a major roadblock in their success. "It has come to our notice that many students and even school authorities are not aware that these buses are already on the road and in case anyone has a complaint, they can approach us directly," says Parmar.

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