Students from Tangjialing migrant school in Haidian fill a worn-out bus. [Photo/China Daily]

Move expected to improve safety for children from three local schools

Three primary schools in Zhongguancun, China's silicon valley, will trial a school bus program this year, said Li Xiaosong, vice-director of Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, during the ongoing CPPCC Beijing committee.

Together with relevant government departments, the commission will lay down the operation, service and safety standards of school buses, and companies that comply with the standards will be able to operate school buses, she said.

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Taking private cars and school buses run by private companies are currently students' primary means of getting to and from schools.

A mother, surnamed Cao, whose daughter is a second-grader at Zhongguancun No 1 Primary School, said her child's journey to the classroom is one of her biggest worries. She follows the school bus in a taxi each morning to make sure her daughter arrives safely.

"The bus is so full that I can't see seatbelts, so I am very worried about the safety of my girl," she said. "It would be great if the government takes over school bus operations from private companies to better ensure students' safety."

Cao signed a contract with a school bus operating company and pays 400 yuan a month for the service. Attempts to regulate the current chaotic school bus market were introduced early last year. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and the Quarantine and the Standardization Administration of China jointly issued the first ever standards for school bus safety on Feb 18 last year.

The standards call for all school buses to be fitted with seatbelts and a "black box" to preserve data related to driving speed, time and distance.

The regulations also required an adult to be on the bus in addition to the driver to supervise the students. If more than 40 children are on board, two adults should supervise them. However, many non-licensed school buses are still running.

The new rules mean that school buses will be entitled to use bus lanes, but should be easily identified and use unified signs, Li said.

"The program is in line with the Beijing traffic congestion management scheme," she said. "It will effectively reduce the gridlock around school areas, and help parents who have to get up early to drive children to school."

More than 14,000 students from Zhongguancun No 1, 2 and 3 primary schools will benefit from the new policy.

However, some deputies to the Beijing Municipal People's Congress said the local government should conduct a thorough investigation before putting the pilot project into widespread practice.

Wang Limei, secretary-general of China Road Transport Association, said the massive development of school buses is only suitable in short and medium distance routes where students are densely populated.

"The government should investigate the location of schools and calculate the number of students who need to take school buses before starting the project in all the schools," Wang said.

According to research from the China Youth and Children Research Center, more than 80 percent of 640,000 primary school students spend more than 20 minutes on their way to school.

And 30 percent of students are driven to school by their parents.