School buses and vans transporting students across Pune district will have to meet additional safety requirements, including functional CCTV cameras, vehicle location tracking systems and fire-safety equipment, following a decision by the Pune District School Bus Safety Committee.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the committee at the Pune Police Commissioner's office on Wednesday. Vehicles that fail to comply with the prescribed requirements could face suspension or cancellation of their licences.
The administration has given school transport operators a three-month period to install CCTV cameras and tracking systems, according to reports.
Schools will also have to ensure that their transport arrangements are properly registered. The new requirements apply to vehicles used to transport students, including school buses and vans.
The Pune district already has a dedicated School Bus Safety Committee, comprising representatives from schools, the Regional Transport Office, education department, police, bus contractors, parents and local citizens.
The latest measures add to existing school-transport safety requirements. Schools in Pune already use systems such as GPS tracking, CCTV cameras and fire extinguishers in some transport fleets. For example, a school safety document from Pune records buses equipped with CCTV, GPS tracking, fire extinguishers and female attendants.
The committee's decision makes such safety arrangements part of the compliance requirements for school transport vehicles across the district.
The new directions also include provisions for students with disabilities, with transport vehicles required to provide appropriate facilities for them.
The administration has warned that failure to comply with the requirements could affect the licence of the vehicle, making compliance a responsibility for both transport operators and schools.
The measures come as Pune authorities continue to focus on road safety around school transport. The district administration has separately ordered agencies to address identified accident-prone locations, including 43 road black spots, as part of a wider road-safety exercise.
