234 school cabs in agra go the gps way!

234 School Cabs in Agra Go the GPS Way!

The Indian city of Agra is all set revamp its school student cabs.

The Indian city of Agra is all set revamp its school student cabs.

The regional transport office in Agra has given 3 months of time to 234 cab owners to install GPS and other safety gadgets in their cabs.

Agra is going to be the first city in the Uttar Pradesh to implement this Delhi-based model for school cabs.

"Apart from modification of vehicles, the cab drivers will also need to be verified by both schools and school cab service provider in order to avoid any kind of criminal nature act,"

 The initiative was taken in the wake of 2 students casualties reported in Saharanpur and Rampur districts in 2014.  It is meant to assure safety of students on their journey to school and their ride back home.  Agra is the first city in UP to go the GPS way.  The city has adopted the same model as the capital city, Delhi had adopted while installing GPS in their cabs.

 The Delhi model insists that all cabs should have a GPS system so that the authorities can keep track of the vehicles 24/7.  Also, the cabs must have a speed modulator fitted in them, of the specified standard of 40 km/hour.  Also, the number of students per trip shouldn’t exceed 1.5 times of the permitted number of passengers.  Apart from that, every cab must be equipped with a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher and a register containing names of students who travel by cabs and the contact numbers of their parents.  Also, every cab is expected to carry a 150 mm wide yellow strip on all four sides with the contact numbers of the cab owner and the school.

 This initiative by the Agra regional transport office is praiseworthy.  At the wake of various unfortunate incidents happening across the country,  every state must try and adopt the various technologies involved such as the a. school bus tracker, b. RFID tags etc.  to ensure the safety of students.

Resources

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/234-school-cabs-in-city-

http://www.trackschoolbus.com/blog/234-school-cabs-agra-go-gps-wa

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