KOCHI: The recent fatal accidents that shook Kerala have sparked calls for stringent measures to reduce the number of mishaps.
However, the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has gone more lenient, allowing educational institution buses (EIB) whose fitness certificates have expired or about to expire soon, to continue plying for another four to five months.
So far, the practice was to withdraw the vehicles from service and carry out repair and maintenance works before subjecting them for fitness tests as and when their validity ended, even if it meant the vehicle couldn’t be operated for two to three weeks during the academic year. The lone exemption was provided during the pandemic.
Now, as per the written directive issued to all deputy transport commissioners, regional and joint regional transport officers, the validity of the fitness certificate of all EIBs, whose fitness expired or is about to expire in the coming months, has been extended till April 2025.
“It’s directed that fitness tests of such vehicles need to be conducted only in the month of April, May 2025. The same is aimed at avoiding subjecting the vehicles to fitness tests by the institutions multiple times in a single academic year,” read the December 18 directive issued from the office of the transport commissioner.
The decision was taken after the Kerala Private School Management submitted a memorandum, saying that schools had reopened after being closed for a long period during Covid in December 2021, and the same led to a situation where many schools are forced to submit school buses multiple times for fitness tests in an academic year as the validity period of some buses ends midway.
“The (latest) move will result in EIBs plying without carrying out timely maintenance activities. This increases the risk of mishaps, especially like moving vehicles catching fire. Also, will insurance companies approve claims if such vehicles meet with accidents? Such leniency at a time when accidents are rising will send a wrong message,” said a former senior MVD official on the condition of anonymity.
For instance, on November 14, the wheels of a school bus got detached due to loose nuts amid operations at Pattanakkad in Cherthala, he said, adding the same will result in a loss to the state exchequer, with vehicles skipping tests based on the year of registration.
Meanwhile, MVD sources said the usual practice was that such vehicles are subjected to fitness tests at the start of the academic season itself without waiting for the expiry of the fitness validity period.
“If the fitness validity of a school bus is till August, the management can submit the bus for fitness certificate in April-May itself, ensuring its operation can be availed without interruptions throughout the academic year. This ‘reduction’ of validity period in fact ensures the vehicle is in top condition. Now, many vehicles would be plying without carrying out the periodic maintenance tests,” said a source.
In Kerala, over 23,000 vehicles are being operated by schools. Of these, around 9,000 are owned by CBSE schools while the rest belong to aided, unaided schools and colleges. A huge number of vehicles are operated by private parties.
The development comes even as the Ernakulam Regional Transport Office (RTO), the first in Kerala to register one million vehicles, lacks a dedicated Vehicle Testing Centre despite the rise in the number of fitness test inspections over the years. There are nearly 750 school vehicles under the Ernakulam RTO alone.
