PANJIM: The Department of Transport has issued a notification inviting suggestions on finalizing the Goa Motor Vehicles (Regulations for School Buses) Rules, 2015 that were in the past called the Goa School Bus Rules.
This comes following the Herald campaign launched last month highlighting how children were at risk in vans and rickshaws that ferried them to school dangerously full, with the government failing to enforce rules framed after the Calvim bus tragedy. Following the report, the High Court had taken congnisance of the situation and asked for the relevant departments to look into why the rules hadn’t been notified.
The notification issued on September 19, invites suggestions within 15 days. All objections and suggestions have to be forwarded to the Director of Transport and ex-officio Additional Secretary to the Government of Goa. The suggestions will be taken into consideration at the time of finalising the draft rules.
Among the detailed rules, the department has highlighted the necessity of contract carriage permits, grant of contract carriage permits to carry school children and the forming of Children Safety Committee and Children Transport Committee.
The department has also said they would have the power to approve the model of all vehicles that can be used as school buses and in doing so that the Transport Director shall ascertain the safety provisions provided by the manufacturer keeping in mind the safety of children.
