Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    SHENZHEN police impounded four school buses that failed to provide required certificates yesterday, the first day of the new school year.

    To ensure safety on the first day, police set up 73 inspection points near school areas, main roads and border areas to check school buses. A total of 472 vehicles were inspected, police said yesterday.

    At 7:45 a.m., police intercepted a bus that was suspected of being over capacity in Sanzhoutian, Yantian District. The bus, with a maximum capacity of 45, was carrying 50 people, including eight parents who wanted to ride with their children.

    The inspections focused on emergency equipment, GPS systems and seat conditions, all of which are regulated under new national school bus safety standards.

    School buses must now possess special school bus permits and drivers must obtain certificates issued by police before they begin driving children. All school buses in Shenzhen must be equipped with safety belts and bus drivers will be fined 200 yuan (US$32) if students on their bus fail to fasten them.

    The city has capped the number of passengers allowed on a kindergarten bus at 45 and for middle school buses it’s 56. Each bus must have one teacher present per 20 students.

    Seventeen public schools, most of them primary schools, opened this year, relieving a school shortage, especially in Bao’an and Longgang districts.