Sharjah: A new system of inspections will certify the effectiveness of safety devices onboard school buses in Sharjah, officials revealed on Tuesday.
The move was discussed during a recent visit by a team from Emirates Transport to the headquarters of Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA). During the meeting, they discussed, among other topics, the second phase of the ‘Your Children are Safe’ initiative, which covers the installation of safety devices onboard school buses, in coordination with private schools in Sharjah.
The specifications for the safety devices were set through joint efforts between SPEA and Emirates Transport. An electronic platform was also established for schools to schedule visits for the inspection of buses and facilitate the payment of fees.
Certification process
The inspection visits by a specialised team will ensure the effectiveness of the devices onboard buses to validate whether they conform to the approved specifications, upon which a certificate of completion will be issued for each school bus through a dedicated smart app. The inspection process aims to start “early next October, once confirming the regularity of all school transport operations across the schools”.
Tracking app
Meanwhile the first phase of the ‘Your Children are Safe’ initiative has been completed, by providing a platform to track the movement of school buses and students, in addition to a smart app for transport and safety supervisors, and another app for parents. The app not only enables SPEA to monitor all school transport operations, it also allows parents to track their children’s school bus journey in real time, from the moment they leave home and board the bus until they disembark at the end of the school day.
High-level meeting
During the meeting, SPEA Chairperson Dr Muhadditha Al Hashimi received the visiting delegation, which was headed by Faryal Tawakul, acting CEO of Emirates Transport. At the onset of the meeting, Dr Al Hashimi emphasized the key role of school transportation in supporting the educational process by reinforcing a positive and safe school environment for the students during their daily journeys in the bus.
Faryal Tawakul stressed the leading role of Emirates Transport as a major school transport provider for the last 41 years, and highlighted the joint cooperation with the SPEA as a successful model to serve students.
