Mumbai: In the wake of a recent Badlapur incident in which a 4-year-old girl was molested by a school van driver, and a previous incident in which children fell out of an open door of vans, the School Bus Owners Association Maharashtra (SBOA) on Tuesday petitioned govt to raise concerns over what it described as a rapidly expanding and largely unchecked network of illegal school vans operating across Maharashtra. The association estimated that nearly 4,000 unauthorised school vans were plying in the state and demanded immediate, time-bound action from the Traffic Police and the Transport Department to prevent “avoidable risks” from turning into an “irreversible tragedy”.In a media statement, SBOA President Anil Garg said parents and citizens were increasingly asking, “How many warnings will it take before preventable risks turn into irreversible tragedy?” The association alleged that unauthorised vans routinely flouted basic safety requirements and operated outside the regulatory framework meant to protect children during daily commutes.
According to the SBOA, many such vehicles run without valid permits, fitness certificates or insurance, and often lack speed governors, CCTV cameras, GPS tracking, first-aid kits and fire extinguishers. It also raised concerns about driver verification, claiming that background checks and identity validation were frequently absent. The most serious gap, the association said, was the non-availability of lady attendants in vehicles carrying young children, leaving students vulnerable during boarding, travel and dispersal.“When vehicles operate outside regulation, accountability disappears and enforcement becomes reactive rather than preventive,” the association said, urging authorities to treat the issue as a public safety emergency. It demanded a citywide crackdown on illegal school vans, including immediate seizure of vehicles and stringent penalties for repeat offenders. It also called for lady attendants to be made mandatory across all school transport vehicles, backed by strict checks on identity verification and training.The association further sought uniform enforcement of safety norms, including vehicle fitness, driver background checks, speed limits, CCTV functionality, GPS monitoring, and adherence to designated pick-up and drop protocols. It also argued that schools and parents must share responsibility by engaging only compliant vehicles, and proposed a transparent, publicly accessible list of authorised school transport operators, along with a helpline for reporting violations.
