Private school vans modify their vehicles and carry children on a fixed monthly fare—which is illegal according to law. But, the practice still goes on in many parts of Bangalore city.
Nagesh, Superintendent of police at the Karnataka transport department head office admitted that this is a problem. He said “We are aware that many school children in Bangalore travel in modified vehicles. We need a written complaint in order to act. But neither the parents nor the schools register any complaints with us. We hardly get any complaints, therefore only three to four cases are registered per year.”
School vans modify their vehicles to accommodate more children The transport department recognizes the practice as illegal under the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act, 2012. However, no concrete actions are taken against the violators.Tamanna Parveen, Assistant director of statistics transport department confirmed that cases registered against school vans for violating traffic norms and carrying excessive children are very minimal. She said that they have not registered cases in double digits in any year so far.
Nagesh added that there is no provision in the law that allows private vehicle owners to modify their vehicles and ferry school children on a fixed fare. Private Omni vans take out a back seat and a put in a bench instead to accommodate more children in the van. He also said most private vans do not have a carriage permit, they are working with a passenger permit only.
He said, “Even autos are not allowed to carry children on a fixed monthly fare. Only school buses which have met all the requirements and are authorized by the school boardcan ferry school children We can’t stop a vehicle carrying children and take action against them instantly. The practice will not be ethical and can also bring problems with unions,”he added.
Nagesh also said that requirements to be met by a school vehicle included having a carriage permit, yellow and green lines on the side, grills on windows, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc. He said that most private vehicles do not meet these requirements.
D Shashi Kumar, General Secretary, Associated Management of Private Schools of English medium (KAMS) in Karnataka said “The problem is that parents themselves don’t mind sending their children in these modified vehicles. Many schools have made a regulation to make school buses mandatory for the children. But the schools who cannot apply this rule due to financial constraints, allow private school vans or autos to carry children.”
In 2013, the transport department notified the Karnataka Motor Vehicles (Conditions for Vehicles Engaged in Transport of Schoolchildren) Rules. The rules say that no motor vehicles can be used as transport vehicles unless the owners and drivers possess a contract permit which allows them to commercialise their vehicles.
According to data provided by Bangalore traffic police, around 1700 cases have been booked till November 2023 on vehicles carrying excessive passengers. But no cases have been registered for school vehicles.
According Anil Kumar Grampurohit, chief inspetor at traffic management centre said that transport department must provide us with guidelines, in order to take actions on school vehicles. They usually take care of such cases by themselves.
M.N Sreehari, transport, and traffic advisor to the government of Karnataka said that providing school bus for every child is not possible for many schools. “Some private schools may be able to comply by the rules but most government schools cannot provide such facilities. Many students come with their own transport like cycles, scooters, motorcycle, etc. The students who don’t have such options, they come from autos or vans. It is not practical to enforce punishment on private vehicle owners, as it would bring disorder.”
