Tie up with Ola for bus services, cops tell Kolkata schools

Kolkata: The Friday accident, in which driver Biswanath Dey (30) was killed and 32 students at Loreto Convent School had a narrow escape as the chartered bus they were travelling in swerved and hit a lamp post and a Parama flyover pillar, came as a wake-up call for the traffic police.
The traffic police, who have decided to carrying out a mechanical test on the ill-fated bus, are meeting the authorities at top schools, asking them to take every possible measure ensure such an accident is not repeated.One of the various suggestions is that when it comes to outsourcing the transport system, schools may look to tie up with bigger players not only for better accountability but also for safety and professionalism. "We will recommend to school heads that they take help of service providers, such as OLA, which has launched a bus facility for the IT sector. Others, such as Uber, are also investing in this sector. We have also prepared a list of some big travel firms who have the experience and expertise in ferrying schoolchildren. But we can only make suggestions, the school has to take the final decision," said DC (traffic) Solomon V Nesakumar.
Solomon, however, pointed out their action would not restricted to providing suggestions. "We are in touch with the public vehicles department, which is responsible for issuing licences and certificates. We have asked schoolbuses to carry the certificates with them. We are also asking the department and our men to help carry out random checks of buses ferrying schoolchildren, especially those not owned or directly controlled by schools," said Solomon, adding all the institutes had been told to take feedback from students about their bus and car drivers.
The police have also suggested that schools should immediately list out the names of their drivers and their driving licence numbers that would be scanned to check if they had any accident or crime record. "While bus drivers have been forthcoming, we are having difficulty reigning in drivers of vans and SUVs, ferrying schoolchildren," said a source.
Top officers at Lalbazar insisted the best mode of transport to ferry students is a schoolbus. "We have told institutes that a bus is our preferred mode as it cuts down on vehicles vying for space on roads, especially outside schools. The fewer the number of vehicles on roads, the lesser is the chance of an accident. Moreover, buses tend to drive slower and therefore, safer. Add to it the fact that your child can socialize on schoolbuses, but s/he cannot in a family car," Solomon said.
The police also recommended that a few schools in the same neighbourhood-such as Pratt Memorial and St James at Entally, or St Thomas and Loyola School at Kidderpore-Ekabalpore-can together avail of one bus for a particular route.
"We are also in the process of identifying space for the parking of these buses during drop and pick-up time," said an officer.