Dubai: High-tech cameras and geo-fencing are among a raft of measures introduced to beef up security in school buses, six months after a bus driver and two conductors were acquitted of molesting a four-year-old girl in Dubai.
The alleged incident involving a former student of Dubai Modern High School had created a huge stir after the parents of the girl claimed she had been molested by the driver and two conductors on a moving bus while returning home from school.
But the trio were acquitted by the Dubai Court of First Instance, a ruling that was later upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Always within sight
M.L. Augustine, Managing Director of School Transport Services (STS), told XPRESS on Monday, "We've installed 1,500 cameras in 550 buses since September. This number will eventually cross 3,000 as we have more than 1,250 buses ferrying over 50,000 schoolchildren daily."
He said the bigger buses with 50 seats have been installed with three cameras each, while the 22-seaters have two. "Two cameras in front cover the entrance, driver's seat and the front portion of the bus, while the one at the centre of the aisle captures what goes on behind," he said.
"The cameras have been installed under the guidance and clearance of the Dubai Police," he said, noting that a digital video recorder on the bus records data that is regularly monitored in the presence of school management representatives. The keys to the recorders are with the STS management.
Augustine said STS has introduced many new safety features in its operations. Besides speed and panic alerts, which set off an alarm in the control room every time a bus crosses the speed limit of 80km/h or faces any emergency, he said all buses are now geo-fenced.
"Geo-fencing defines an area of movement for a bus and if it happens to stray from this geography, we get an alert," he said.
Similarly, provisions have been made to secure an alert if a vehicle is idling for more than 10 minutes at any point of time on the journey.
Augustine said in keeping with the Roads and Transport Authority's requirements, curtains have been removed from all bus windows. "The windows are now covered with light tinted glass," he said, but added, "We need to wait until next April to see if the heat and light is too much for the students."
Rearguard action
To check that no student is left behind after a trip, he said every bus driver is now required to walk the entire length of the aisle to place a "No Passenger" placard at the back of the bus. "This way he is forced to ensure the bus is empty. And there is no escaping the eye of the camera."
Augustine said a Safe Travel Checklist has been put in place for drivers and conductors at every stage of a school trip. Besides having to scan their own IDs, drivers also have to ensure that the ID cards of students are scanned to maintain a student log. "If there is any mismatch between the number of students who get in and get out, we get an on-board alert at the control room."
Augustine urged parents to co-operate with STS and make sure their children carry their bar-coded ID cards with them.
He said as per the new rules, women have been inducted by schools to supervise buses. "Over 50 per cent of the staff is now female."
Some schools have even introduced fixed seating for students on numbered seats in the buses. Bus behaviour codes and buckle-up reminders have also been put up as a guide for students, he added.
