In a bid to make sure that school buses and vans followed guidelines to ensure safe transport of students, the Navi Mumbai regional transport office (RTO) conducted a safety drive last week.

During the weeklong drive that began October 7, transport officials paid surprise visits to schools in Vashi and checked more than 40 vehicles to see if they met the RTO’s requirements. The list of safety norms (see box) was first forwarded to schools and bus contractors in 2011, after which the RTO visited the institutes to check if their transport facilities adhered to the norms.