Student safety first: Abu Dhabi puts full responsibility on schools
Abu Dhabi schools held fully accountable for student safety on all buses
Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) has confirmed that schools must provide school transport services for their students, either directly or through external operators appointed by them.
Schools must also provide any necessary support, assistance and related services to students with additional educational needs to enable them to benefit from school bus services.
In exceptional cases where school transport cannot be provided for individual students, the school must request an exemption from the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC).
Schools required to provide safe school transport and support students of determination, with full accountability
56 violations and fines ranging from Dh100 to Dh200,000 recorded, with a five-day correction period
School Transport Policy Guide
In its School Transport Policy Guide, published through its digital channels, ADEK stated that all school transport operators and personnel must comply with the requirements of the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) set out in the Executive Regulations governing school transport services in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, as well as the Abu Dhabi Guidelines for Regulating School Bus Traffic issued by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council.
ADEK stressed that schools bear full responsibility for the safety of all students and individuals on board school buses throughout the journey, even when schools outsource transport services to third-party operators.
Abu Dhabi Mobility: 56 school bus-related violations
Meanwhile, the Integrated Transport Centre, Abu Dhabi Mobility, the authority responsible for regulating transport in Abu Dhabi, including school buses, and affiliated with the Department of Municipalities and Transport, confirmed that the Executive Regulations governing school transport services in the emirate specify 56 types of violations related to school buses.
These include nine violations applicable to schools, 24 violations applicable to operators, 12 violations applicable to drivers, and 11 violations applicable to bus supervisors.
Penalties range from written warnings to fines starting at Dh100 for a first offence and rising, in certain cases, to Dh200,000 for repeated violations.
Violators are given five working days to rectify the violation. Failure to do so will result in the violation being recorded again, with the more severe penalty applied.
9 violations for which schools are responsible
The nine school-related violations include:
Failure to provide a sufficient number of buses: A written warning for the first violation and an Dh20,000 fine for repetition.
Failure to appoint a school transport officer: A written warning initially, followed by an Dh5,000 fine for repetition.
Failure to provide a bus supervisor for every bus carrying students under the age of 11: An Dh5,000 fine, rising to Dh10,000 for repetition.
Carrying out any bus maintenance work on school premises: A written warning initially and an Dh10,000 fine for repetition.
Failure to designate a person to receive students returned to school after they cannot be delivered to their parents or guardians: An Dh10,000 fine, rising to Dh20,000 for repetition.
Exceeding the maximum school transport fees without obtaining written approval from ADEK: An Dh10,000 fine, rising to Dh20,000 for repetition.
Failure to maintain a risk and bus safety plan in accordance with the requirements of the Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health Centre: A written warning initially, followed by an Dh5,000 fine for repetition.
Failure to address complaints from parents, the public or the department in accordance with the prescribed rules, procedures and deadlines: A written warning initially and an Dh5,000 fine for repetition.
Contracting an unlicensed operator: An Dh100,000 fine, rising to Dh200,000 for repetition. The fine is doubled if the violation is repeated after the second offence.
24 violations for which operators are responsible
The violations applicable to school transport operators include 24 types, among them:
Operating a school transport service without obtaining the department’s permit: Dh50,000.
Operating a school bus that is not registered in the emirate without a permit, or exceeding the period specified in the permit: Dh10,000, rising to Dh20,000 for repetition.
Operating a bus for school transport without the department’s permit: Dh5,000 per bus.
Employing a driver in school transport services before the driver obtains a permit to practise as a school bus driver: Dh5,000 per driver.
Failure to appoint a coordinator between the operator and schools: a written warning initially, followed by an Dh5,000 fine for repetition.
Failure to designate student pick-up and drop-off points in front of their homes: a written warning initially, followed by an Dh2,000 fine for repetition.
Violations by school bus drivers and supervisors
The regulations specify 12 types of violations involving bus drivers.
These include failure to conduct the required daily inspection of the bus before driving it, including checking the lights, tyres, bodywork and seats, maintaining inspection checklists and reporting any defects to the operator.
Drivers may also be fined Dh1,000 for each violation for failing, in the absence of a bus supervisor, to ensure that no students remain on the bus when it reaches its final destination.
Other violations include failure to ensure that first-aid equipment and fire extinguishers are available on the school bus, and failure, in the absence of a supervisor, to ensure that bus entrances, exits and aisles — including emergency exits — are free of obstructions before the journey begins.
Each such violation carries a Dh500 fine.
Violations involving bus supervisors
Abu Dhabi Mobility also stated that 11 types of violations apply to school bus supervisors.
These include allowing students to stand while the bus is moving, punishable by a Dh200 fine; failing to ensure that all students remain seated and wear their seat belts throughout the journey, also punishable by Dh200; and failing to ensure that no students remain on the bus when it reaches its final destination, punishable by a Dh1,000 fine.
A bus supervisor may also be fined Dh1,000 for allowing a student under the age of 11 to leave the bus at the designated drop-off point without first confirming that the student’s parent, guardian or authorized representative is present to receive the child.
