The contract carriage permit is similar to permits held by taxi-drivers. It specifically states that the vehicle may be used as a public transport vehicle. Currently, Omnis are not given such a permit at all to ferry school children.

According to data for last year compiled by the RTOs, the RTO (West) found 127 vehicles flouting this rule, while RTO (East) and RTO (Central) caught 293 and 404 vehicles respectively. It’s a common enough offence for the RTO to even have a term to describe it: “Clandestine operations” as a public transport vehicle. For 2006, the RTO (Central) found 495 vehicles operating as public-carriers without the required permit while the west and east regional RTOs booked 147 and 302 vehicle owners respectively.

The numbers would have been encouraging had it not been for the abysmal follow-up action. Vehicle owners charged with the offence are let off on payment of a meager fine of Rs 2,000 at each instance. With as many as 12 to 15 children in each trip, or up to 40 children in multiple trips every day, the economics make for a sound business model, despite the occasional penalty to the State. That explains why, while “clandestine operations” include all kinds of public transport without a permit, the RTOs compile data annually for vehicles indulging in clandestine operations involving transporting of school children.

The driver’s licence and the permit of the owner are suspended, but only for up to four months. State Transport Commissioner Shyamsunder Shinde defended this fine-print in the rulebooks, saying: “If the same vehicle is caught on more than three occasions, the permit and registration of the vehicle are cancelled.” He added: “There have been instances where the same person and vehicle are caught more than once conducting such clandestine operations.”

Asked whether the rules need to be more stringent and implementation more effective, Shinde said it’s not so simplistic. “If the rules have to be more rigorous, then several things have to be taken into consideration, especially the socio-economic factors,” he said. “We need better school bus facilities like the one we are proposing.” According to him, the average parent cannot afford school buses and that’s why the cheaper vans and autorickshaws come into play.

The commissioner is pinning his hopes on a proposal to introduce Maruti Omnis as school vans, with stringent regulations of minimum amenities to be provided and basic safety precautions to be taken. “The proposal that is being formulated will have to be prepared in a very thorough manner as the issue is very complex. Safety and comfort of the school children will be given priority,” Shinde said.