The move follows two cases, one of which was fatal, of children being abandoned in school buses in northern Vietnam.
According to Zing, to ensure safety for students using school buses in the city, Le Thanh Liem, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, directed leaders of departments and other governmental bodies to implement measures to tighten regulations on these transportation services.
The Vice Chairman particularly directed Department of Education and Training to carry out inspections of schools using private bus services and require transportation providers to follow road traffic safety procedures for vehicles and drivers. Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation has the responsibility to oversee the school bus service providers following rules and regulations about road traffic safety.
Liem also requested school bus service companies to end contracts and deal seriously with drivers and vehicle owners who do not observe traffic and road safety laws and regulations, or who do not fulfill the responsibilities listed in their contracts.
Going forward, the Department of Transportation will cooperate with the police to increase patrols, surveillance and punishment for traffic rules violators, especially in student transportation services.
Tuoi Tre reports that the Ho Chi Minh City Management Center of Public Transport (MCPT) has signed contracts with 123 primary and junior high schools to regulate school bus services.
In the last two months, there were two cases of students being forgotten and left on a bus in northern provinces. On August 6, Long, a six-year-old student at Gateway International School, was abandoned and later found dead in a bus.
The second incident took place on September 13 at a private kindergarten in Bac Ninh Province. The kindergarten owner picked up children in the morning; however, one three-year-old kid was found inside the vehicle seven hours later. He was taken to a hospital while suffering from heat stroke, fever and dehydration.
[Photo via VOV]
