Vijayawada: With the 2024-25 academic year starting soon and the schools are set for reopening on June 12, the road transport authority is planning a special drive to check the fitness of school buses in the erstwhile Krishna district.
Several school buses are operating without fitness certificates (FC), it is learnt.
According to data obtained from the deputy transport commissioner’s office, the number of such buses in the NTR district as of June 3, 2024, stood at 1,725, of which 1,409 vehicles were under Vijayawada RTO office limits. The remaining 316 vehicles were under the Nandigama RTO office limits.
Out of 1,725 such buses in NTR district, 1,024 vehicles including 895 under Vijayawada RTO limits and 129 under Nandigama RTO limits have obtained FC. As many as 701 vehicles — 514 vehicles under Vijayawada RTO limits and 187 vehicles under Nandigama RTO limits — are yet to obtain FC.
In Krishna district, the total educational institution buses (EIBs) are 946, of which, 721 vehicles are under Gudiwada RTO limits while 225 are under the Machilipatnam RTO limits. Of the 946 such buses, 421 vehicles have obtained FC while 525 vehicles have not.
Notably, the number of vehicles without FC outnumber the vehicles that have got FC, in Krishna district.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, NTR District RTO Aishwarya Reddy said around 60 per cent of the EIBs in the NTR district have obtained fitness certificates while the fitness certificates of the remaining 40 per cent EIBs were yet to be sought.
“A week-long special drive would be conducted by the RTO after the schools reopen. School buses found without a fitness certificate will be seized,” Aishwarya Reddy said.
The RTO said the transport department will also conduct the driver refresher programme for school drivers to sensitise them on the extra precautions that need to be taken at the wheel while transporting children in school buses.