7.
Escort mandatory provision on "nanny van" to be implemented
The Government will make provision of an escort mandatory on board school buses which have a capacity exceeding 16 seats effective from next February.
The provision, however, is confined to school buses carrying primary school and kindergarten children.
This was revealed by the Assistant Commissioner for Transport (Management and Licensing), Dr Ernest Lee, at a press conference today (Tuesday) on safety provisions of school transport jointly held by Transport Department, Education Department and the Police.
Dr Lee said the experience gained from the bigger buses would help to assess the possible extension of such a requirement to nanny vans at a later stage.
He noted that the requirement was one of the measures drawn up by the three government departments for implementation to enhance the safety of school transport after a three-month public consultation that ended last December.
In the exercise, Education and Transport departments had received 11,900 completed questionnaires. Of them, 84 per cent were from parents.
Dr Lee pointed out that other improvement measures would also be implemented in stages to enhance the safety of school transport.
These measures and their implementation schedule are as follows:
encouraging the setting up of school bus service committees in all primary schools and kindergartens;
the tightening of licensing conditions for nanny vans to commence on August 1;
an additional "Caution: Children" sign board to be placed on buses when carrying school children to alert other motorists should be in place by August 1;
mandatory installation of warning devices at the main door and emergency exit door for commencement on February 1, 1997;