The Transport Department has planned to conduct fitness tests from May 15 for around 1,700 buses operated by educational institutions that are currently closed for the summer holidays.
All schools and colleges in the district are expected to send their vehicles for obtaining fitness certificates and renewal of licences, department officials said.
Full details
According to officials, managements of educational institutions can apply online for desired time slots for verification of their vehicles.
The management would need to upload pictures of buses and relevant documents, along with full details of the drivers including their health condition. These details would be verified by the Transport Department after which a time slot would be granted. The vehicles would then be brought to the testing track where they would be verified by Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs).
S. Venkateswara Rao, Deputy Transport Commissioner of Visakhapatnam district, said the fitness tests are likely to commence from May 15 and would be over by the time the schools and colleges reopen.
“The fitness tests would be conducted at Anandapuram, Gajuwaka, Anakapalle and Narsipatnam. Around 30 inspectors would examine the condition of the vehicles, with each inspector checking about 10 vehicles per day,” Mr. Venkateswara Rao told The Hindu .
Driver negligence
Officials said they would conduct thorough checks to see if the vehicles comply with rules. Height of foot-boards, functioning of signal lights, maintenance of first aid kits, seating, braking system, emergency windows, and several other parameters would be checked.
The motor vehicle inspectors s said that in case a bus fails to meet the fitness test, it would not be allowed to ply until the school management obtains a fitness renewal licence by applying again after making appropriate modifications.
Visakhapatnam district has about 1,700 buses belonging to educational institutions. About 1,100 buses are said to be operated by schools.
The city has witnessed several road accidents involving school buses in the past. Transport Department officials say that most accident cases are due to driver negligence.
