RTO Intensifies Child Transport Safety Across Maharashtra
The Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Nagpur has scaled up a statewide road safety campaign with renewed emphasis on securing school transport services and reducing road risks for children and wider communities. The initiative – part of National Road Safety Month – blends enforcement actions with awareness activities targeting school buses, vans and three‑wheelers that ferry students, in an effort to strengthen compliance with safety norms across the urban mobility ecosystem.
Under the umbrella theme “Sadak Suraksha Jeevan Raksha” (Road Safety is Life Safety), RTO teams are conducting educational programs for drivers, transport operators, parents and students themselves. Events are staged at schools, major bus stops and public intersections to reinforce core safety principles such as vehicle fitness, proper seating arrangements, and adherence to speed limits in school zones. Banners highlighting safety protocols have been installed across high‑footfall corridors, aiming to embed safer commuting behaviour in daily routines. The heightened focus comes amid growing concerns about unregulated and unsafe transport arrangements for schoolchildren in parts of the state. In neighbouring districts, RTO inspections recently flagged dozens of school buses as unfit for service due to lapses in maintenance and missing fitness certifications, prompting fines and directives for corrective action before those vehicles can return to service.
A key objective of Maharashtra’s RTO campaign is to curb illegal transport operations — such as unapproved autorickshaws or vans ferrying students without proper permits — which often evade oversight yet contribute to urban congestion and elevated risk exposures for children and other commuters. Enforcement intensification aligns with wider transport policy goals to secure safer mobility environments in rapidly growing urban and peri‑urban districts. Road safety experts note that such integrated awareness and enforcement drives can yield long‑term benefits when coupled with structural measures like traffic education gardens, safer pedestrian crossings near schools, and dedicated “school‑safe” corridors where vehicles moderate speed and prioritise vulnerable road users. These physical and behavioural interventions complement regulatory efforts, helping to shape a culture of road safety that underpins sustainable urban mobility.
At the community level, parents and school administrators have welcomed the focus on safety but flagged challenges in consistently tracking the status of multiple transport providers and ensuring that every vehicle adheres to evolving safety norms. Several schools in Nagpur and other Maharashtrian cities have reported difficulties in monitoring private transport arrangements due to frequent driver changes and turnover in contracted vehicles, pointing to the need for shared accountability mechanisms involving authorities, parents and institutions. The ongoing RTO drive also signals the state’s broader recognition of road safety as an essential public‑health priority, particularly in urban areas where traffic density and commuter diversity elevate risk. According to transport officials, the strong performance of Nagpur in recent safety rankings was a testament to sustained awareness efforts, and the current campaign aims to extend that impact statewide.
Looking ahead, Maharashtra’s transport authorities plan to sustain the momentum of awareness campaigns, paired with targeted enforcement and vehicle fitness checks, to create safer school commute networks. For children, families and urban planners alike, these measures underscore the importance of integrating road safety into the design and governance of metropolitan transport systems — ensuring that mobility supports growth without compromising wellbeing.
