Schools claim Safe Road a hit, ask for more buses

Schools claim Safe Road a hit, ask for more buses
BY SUSHMITA CHATTERJEE
BENGALURU








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BENGALURU Though the ‘Safe Road To School’ programme has been written off as a failure by many, schools say it has helped to a large extent.

Principal of Bishop Cotton’s Girls School, Princess Franklyn, said, “We have six BMTC buses plying from various parts of the city and even from far off places to bring children safely to school. Many parents now do not come to drop their children which reduces the chaos in front of the school. Now only a few use private vehicles to commute.” But when asked if the problem of jammed roads has been solved completely, she said there still are hordes of vehicles parked right opposite the main school gate on Richmond road.

“We have not been able to keep a check on the private vans and autorickshaws that come to drop the children. It is mostly due to them that there are traffic jams during peak hours. As for parents who come with their children, we have issued them passes for Rs 1,000 per year which allows them to come inside the campus.” Apart from schools situated in the heart of the city, those on the outskirts also have been facing problems of traffic pile ups in the morning and afternoon hours, when the school working hours start and end.

Mahalakshmi Vijaychand, Principal of Sindhi High School, near Hebbal said: “The roads are very narrow and there is two-way traffic. So, even the BMTC buses coming to and from different schools are unable to move freely. That causes all the trouble.

Schools in this locality had sent a joint representation to government officials asking them to make this road a one-way.

oad a one-way. ut there was no response.” The school plans to con duct a sur vey among students to study the popularity of BMTC buses so that more buses can be introduced. “We want to introduce more BMTC buses because parents have told us that they are comfortable sending their kids in them. It reduces several problems and also ensures the child’s safety. With heavy vehicles, chances of accidents are fewer as compared to smaller ones,” added Ms Vijaychand.

But, there are still some parents who think otherwise. Ramya Ranganathan drops her child to a school in Koramangala everyday because she is worried about her child’s safety.

“I don’t trust either the BMTC buses or the private ones deployed by the school. The drivers of these buses drive rashly. So I don’t want to take a risk where my child is concerned. Moreover, these buses go around picking students from so many places which forces children to sit in the buses for long hours unnecessarily,” said Ramya.

This fear could probably be one of the reasons why traffic has always been out of control in our city.