Transport

Private Van & Buses

Dear Parents,

On the 27^th, I had a meeting with the owners and drivers of private vans / buses which many of you use to transport your children to the school. The purpose of the meeting to emphasise the need for taking all actions which would ensure the safety of your children.

A legal requirement is that all private vans carrying students must be equipped with GPS. What this implied was explained to owners and drivers. Since you have made this agreement with this particular owner and van driver it is up to you to insist that this system is installed on the vehicle that transports your son.

There are other requirements too – which you can view from the school website under School - Transport. Please note that each owner / van driver (for each van) is to give the school an affidavit stating that they are complying with all norms (a draft copy will be also hosted on the school website) as per the rules and regulations by the Government of India and the Government of India NCR concerning the transport of students by private vehicles. This is to be with the school by the 15^th April' 18. By the 15^th of every month each van owner / driver is expected to give the school a copy of the GPS log – kindly ensure that this is done.

By the 7^th April, every child must submit page E / F of the school diary, with attachments to their respective class teachers.

Thank you for working with the school authorities to ensure the safety of your children.

May our reflection on the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus lead to a more humane world. Happy Easter !

(Bro E V Miranda)

PRIVATE VANS USED FOR TRANSPORTING SCHOOL CHILDREN – GPS Systems

While the primary purpose of this note is to discuss GPS systems, we start with a brief overview on the entire topic.

For transporting children to school, even in private vans, the Government has issued several orders regarding responsibilities of:-

1. Van Owners
2. School Management
3. Parents

Refer, amongst others:

Directorate of Education, Govt of Delhi: NO.F.1(678)/CTB/School Safety/2017/901 Dt: 07/11/2017 - Minimum Standards of School Safety.
Central Board of Secondary Education: No. CBSE/AFF/Circular - 8/2017/1217401 dt 23/2/17 - Safety of school children in the school bus.
Directorate of Education, Govt of Delhi: No.F.DE.15(173)/Act-1/Part./2013/7556-71 dt 15/03/13.
Transport Department, Govt of Delhi: No.F.DC(ARU)/Tpt/2013-14 - Registration of Private Motor Vehicles under School Cab Scheme.
Transport Department, Govt of Delhi: No.F.10(97)/AS/STA/Tpt/2013/20 dt 14/2/13 – Permit conditions for Safety of School Transport.

And several others:

Van Owners, School Management and Parents should read these circulars in full and ensure that the vans comply with each and every regulation.

Salient features:

Vans must have

Global Positioning System (GPS), always in working condition.
Speed governor with maximum speed 40 kmph.
Fire extinguisher, first aid box.
Clear windows (no films, curtains, shades), Horizontal grills on windows.
Lockable doors,
Name of owner and driver and telephone number displayed inside and outside.

Vans must not carry more than 1 ½ times the registered capacity of the van

Van Drivers:

Must have at least 5 years’ experience
Must not have been challaned more than twice in a year for offences like red light jumping, lane violation, allowing unauthorised person to drive
Must not have been challaned even once for over speeding, drunken driving
Must be verified by the authorities

This is not an exhaustive list. All are advised to read the above circulars in full, and also to visit the websites of Directorate of Education, Delhi Govt Transport Department and Delhi Traffic Police to see latest circulars and updates. Van Owners, School Management and Parents are all responsible for ensuring all guidelines are met

GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS)

Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) has listed Registered GPS Device Models on its website (copy attached)

A typical GPS hardware looks like:

This is fitted under the dashboard or inside the engine compartment or to the vehicle OBD (computer) port and gets its power supply from the vehicle battery.

Hardware prices vary depending on the manufacturer and features, but are in the range of Rs 3000 to 8000, GST being extra. The better ones will sense multiple items besides location, like stoppage at an undeclared point, over speeding, harsh acceleration or braking etc.

In addition to the GPS hardware, there is a software component to show the van location on a map on a computer or mobile phone. Software is sold on an annual subscription basis. Each hardware maker has their own software, so to keep a common track, all vans should choose the same hardware.

Software prices again vary depending on manufacturer, but are between Rs 1100 to Rs 3500 per year per vehicle, GST extra. The better ones will give multiple reports and alerts, like stoppage at an undeclared point, over speeding, etc.

COST SUMMARY

For example, from Map My India, hardware costs around Rs 6000, and software around Rs 2400 per year per vehicle. If this is chosen,

Van owners should buy and install the hardware, the cost is small at only around Rs 6000 per van. It is found that installation of full-featured GPS hardware results in cost savings to the van owner – the device reports harsh acceleration/braking, so drivers can be cautioned and educated, saving fuel and vehicle wear and tear. GPS hardware costs can thus be often recovered within a few months. So it should make business sense
The school can coordinate a subscription from parents to purchase the software - the subscription at 2400 per van per year is Rs 1 lakh a year for 40 vans and part thereof. If there are say, 2000 students using the vans it will cost Rs.50 per student. This will enable the school to interact with parents in checking van location and performance of the driver. Parents are also encourage to load the app on their mobiles to track their son's van movement.
To this add the cost of a person to monitor in the school in case one of the existing staff cannot be spared.