ALUVA: School children have a surprise waiting in the new academic year. They will find that the school buses have changed colour from cream yellow to bright golden yellow, with a brown border. The changes have been effected as per the guidelines of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Regional Transport Officer B J Antony said the colour change will be strictly implemented once the schools reopen.
New school buses out of the factory have already adopted the colour. Instructions in this regard have already been dispatched to the schools. An awareness meeting has also been arranged for the school authorities to get acquainted with the new colour and the changes in rules.
RTO said other rules standard to the school buses are display of school names, address and phone numbers on three sides.
A notable change this year would be the display of Mobile Enforcement Squad (telephone) number in reasonably legible fonts as it would help the public inform the squad in case of an emergency.
Emergency exit will be a must for the school buses from this year, he said. According to an estimate there are around 2500 school buses plying in the district.