Majority of city school trips dependent on private vehicles

SHILLONG, Aug 2: A whopping 68 per cent of the parents in Shillong use their vehicles for dedicated school trips, a survey has revealed.
Both mothers and fathers take out time to drop and pick up their children.
The survey, conducted by the Office of the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner, covered 19 schools and 6,510 parents.
The survey revealed that 20 per cent of the parents drop their kids on their way to work.
It was also revealed that 61 per cent of the students go to school in their private vehicles.
“Unlike in other cities of India, a majority of school students in Shillong use the private mode of transportation as per a survey conducted. One of the many factors contributing to heavy traffic is the individual transportation of school students by private vehicles,” the Office of the DC said.
It may be mentioned that the findings are being used to design a shared school transport system on a pilot mode, which is in the offing.
Meanwhile, sources said the introduction of school buses is in the pipeline and the traffic police are implementing the existing measures to address traffic congestion in Shillong.
Traffic snarls during school hours are a huge problem in many parts of Shillong.
Earlier, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had announced that the state government will introduce electric buses for public transport.
The idea of school buses was also mooted while parents were advised to send their children to schools in pool cars to reduce traffic jam.
It is pertinent to note that the state government had recently hired an international body of experts to effectively manage the burgeoning traffic woes in the city.
Furthermore, the Meghalaya High Court was recently informed by the state government that a tender has been floated to acquire mini buses so that a large number of schoolchildren may be ferried to and from school in such buses without individual cars being used for the purpose.
Earlier in May, the High Court had tasked the state government with the responsibility of allaying apprehensions of parents with regard to security and delay.
“…It may do well for a responsible official from the state to meet parents and the school authorities and persuade parents to avail of the bus upon allaying their apprehensions as to security and delay. These visits have to be to each school. The state should also explore whether staggering the inflow and outflow of students in each school and staggering the timings of schools located in close proximity may ease the congestion in the locality,” the High Court had said.