School buses under Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) will be operating only at 50 percent seating capacity as students return to campuses next week.
The move aims to curb the spread of COVID-19 and will be followed by a number of other precautionary measures including temperature scans of every student before boarding the bus.
Marwan Al Zarooni, director of operations and commercial affairs at the DTC, said: “The precautionary measures we have taken aimed to revive the confidence of parents in our handling of children who use our school transport services. The Dubai Taxi Corporation has taken extensive safety measures to protect students against the risks of catching COVID-19."
School buses will also be thoroughly sanitised before and after each trip, and students and staff will be expected to wear face masks during the bus journey.
DTC currently operates a fleet of over 400 school buses which serve around 18,600 students from 21 schools that are registered with the DTC’s school transport service.
“The school buses are fitted with hi-tech devices for monitoring and tracking both buses and students, and accordingly improve the security and safety of the service,” Al Zarooni added.
Al Zarooni further elaborated that the devices include cameras, sensors to ensure no student is left behind on the bus, an emergency button to communicate with the control centre, a GPS-based electronic tracking system, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) system, and an engine self-extinguishing system.
All DTC staff, including 408 drivers and 129 lady attendants, have undergone first aid training at the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services.
The new academic year will begin on Sunday, 30 August.