‘Revolutionary’: Meghalaya HC Commends State Govt’s Step Enabling Parents To Track School Buses

The Meghalaya High Court has praised the step taken by the state government to enable parents to follow the real-time location of the buses and what's going on inside such buses through a system called the Real-Time Passenger Information System.

“The system, called the Real-Time Passenger Information System, is almost revolutionary and should allay all the misgivings a concerned parent or guardian may have as to the security of the school going child travelling in a bus.”, the bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W. Diengdoh observed.

The Court was perusing the status report filed by the State pertaining to the traffic situation in the city of Shillong. The Court noted that certain immediate, short-term, mid-term and long-term proposals were indicated.

Senior Advocate H.L. Shangreiso appeared for the petitioner whereas K. Khan, AAG appeared for the State.

“The most commendable aspect of the matter is the short time within which an initiative has been taken to procure a large number of buses for ferrying school children and to ensure that individual cars do not have to come to drop the children to school or pick them up thereafter. Indeed, despite school buses being available, parents or guardians of wards are more concerned with the security of the school going children, particularly girls, and may not be inclined to allow them to use buses or public transport even if that entails a considerable degree of inconvenience to the parents or guardians.”, the Court said.

Counsel appearing for the State pointed out that CCTVs have been fitted in the buses and an App has been circulated or will be circulated to the parents for the parents to follow, real-time, the location of the buses and what may be going on inside such buses.

The Court noted that such a step will allay all the misgivings a concerned parent or guardian may have as to the security of the school going child travelling in a bus.

The Court further added that “Other measures need also to be adopted to ease the congestion on the roads, whether by building roads, parking lots, making one-way streets or other form of regulation.”

The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 7, 2023.

Cause Title- Philip Khrawbok Shati vs. State of Meghalaya & ors.

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