Madrid plans to inspect 800 school transport vehicles during this academic year |

2023-09-06 15:22:57

The Community of Madrid plans to inspect 800 school transport vehicles throughout the current academic year 2023/2024 and will authorize more than 3,000 buses to cover the routes to educational centers on the occasion of the return to classrooms.

Thus, the Minister of Housing, Transport and Infrastructures, Jorge Rodrigo, explained it today during the visit that he held today in Alcorcón to the headquarters of the Chapín group to verify how the control operations that are carried out annually in the region on this type of services.

“Coinciding with the start of the course, the regional Executive has launched a specific plan to guarantee compliance with the regulations that establish the safety conditions in a type of transport that, because it is aimed at minors, commits us and requires to all those involved, administration, companies and drivers, a permanent vigilant attitude”, pointed out Rodrigo.

This supervision is carried out using vans adapted as mobile offices that have the necessary computer resources to verify the authorizations, both general and specific to the buses. This campaign is added to the ordinary inspections that are carried out in collaboration with the State Security Forces and Corps, aimed at vehicles for the transfer of goods and passengers.

Likewise, the counselor also recalled that during the 2022/2023 period, 200 Madrid schools offered the school route service to some 27,000 students spread over more than 600 itineraries.

The companies renew these authorizations every year and, to obtain the certification, they must prove that their drivers have a valid class D permit, and the CAP card, which certifies their professional aptitude to undertake this work.

Likewise, the presence of a companion will be mandatory when it comes to the transfer of students from special education centers or when 50% or more of the travelers are under 12 years of age, or 75% or more are under 16. This must be a person of legal age, different from the driver, who is in charge of caring for the children during their transport and who knows the security mechanisms and the operations of access and abandonment of the vehicle.

Similarly, buses must have a circulation permit for public service; not be more than 10 years old or 16 in certain circumstances; appear in the technical file as authorized to carry out this work; have passed the ITV favourably; and have an insurance policy with civil liability that covers at least 50 million euros. In addition, in the case of coaches adapted to these requirements, others are added, such as being equipped with lift ramps, having interior anchorages for wheelchairs and duly approved restraint systems.