With safety in mind, BMTC looks to boost chartered services to schools

Amid recent cases of school bus drivers found driving drunk, the BMTC has decided to increase its chartered bus services to schools by offering a safe mode of transport.

“We are introducing chartered services for students and are deploying our newest buses. Equipped with safety features like closed circuit TV cameras and fire extinguishers, our buses will be easily the safest transportation mode for children,” BMTC managing director Ekroop Caur said.

School buses have gained notoriety after their drivers were repeatedly found drunk behind the wheels. In one such instance, a constable with Basavangudi traffic police station drove the bus of Sri Ram Vidyalaya School after finding its driver drunk. The GPS-enabled buses are tracked by the Intelligent Transport System to check if the bus is moving on the given route and is sticking to its time schedule. The buses also have  first aid kits, the MD said.

BMTC believes the chartered service will boost mass transportation as each bus can keep 20 motorcycles and 10 cars off the roads.