The DAO has also set a limit of eight students for modified rickshaw van for now and will totally ban the three-wheelers from the start of the Nepali New Year. [break]The DAO decision was based on the report of a taskforce formed by Biratnagar Sub-metropolis which deemed overloading school buses and rickshaw vans dangerous.
The ban on rickshaw vans was not announced with immediate effect as the representatives of Private and Boarding School Organization of Nepal (PABSON) and National Private and Boarding School Organization of Nepal (N-PABSON) insisted that the use of rickshaw vans be stopped only after the start of Nepali New Year. But the rickshaw vans in poor conditions have been banned with immediate effect.
The taskforce has also asked the schools to paint their buses yellow as told by the Ministry of Education, according to coordinator of the taskforce Punam Dahal.
The task force has also put a speed limit of 35km/hr on school buses and required the buses to have comfortable seats, functional window panes with rods across the entire length and a user-friendly stair case.
“Commercial banks have also agreed to provide easier loans at subsidized rates to help schools buy buses to replace rickshaw vans from the start of Nepali New Year,” Dahal revealed.
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