Give new school buses a chance

At the beginning of another new school semester, the safety of school buses has again become a debatable topic. Since this is the "transitional period" when the new Control Regulations on School Bus Safety Management takes effect, some new school buses bought before the regulations were issued cannot be used, says an article on xinhuanet.com. Excerpts:

The main reason why some of the new school buses have to be garaged is that they were bought before the new regulations were issued and thus don't have the license to operate. They may not meet the new safety standards, but it would be a waste of resources to keep them in the garage in the "transitional period".

An official explanation on the "transitional period" says the school buses don't have to apply to conform to the new standards if, most importantly, they can pick up and reach children to their destinations safely and in time.

Therefore, the authorities should adopt some "transitional measures" to fulfill the requirements of pupils to be transported to and from schools by issuing the buses' temporary licenses and making them permanent if they meet the requirements of the new rules.

The bus operators should have applied for new licenses before the start of the new school year. But since they haven't, it is important to solve students' transport problem in a way that meets the requirements of the new rules.

(China Daily 09/06/2012 page9)