Why haven't many school buses been painted yellow yet?
According to the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, from January 1, 2025, vehicles used for transporting preschool children and schoolchildren must be painted dark yellow. However, even though the decree has been in effect for nearly half a month, many transport companies have yet to implement it.
Delayed implementation
Xanh Tue Duc Primary and Secondary School (Vinh City) is one of the schools with the largest number of school buses in the province, with 11 vehicles. These are all buses contracted by the school with transportation companies. Besides the majority of students from Vinh City, the school also has a significant number of students from districts such as Dien Chau, Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, and Nghi Loc.
Over the years, to ensure the safety of students during transportation, the school has implemented many strict regulations, from picking up and dropping off students, signing for handover, to checking after students disembark. In addition, all vehicles are required to have "school bus" signs on both sides and to have a teacher accompanying the students during the pick-up process.
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However, the regulation requiring vehicles to be painted yellow (according to Government Decree No. 151/2024/ND-CP detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety) has not yet been implemented.
I believe this regulation is necessary and has the consensus of parents because painting all school buses the same color will make it easier to identify them, facilitating traffic flow. Prior to this, as soon as the draft law was available, we worked with the bus companies before signing contracts and included this in the commitment clause. We required the bus companies to ensure the color of the vehicles, warning devices, service life, and adherence to routes and schedules. However, due to the tight timeframe, the buses have not yet complied.
Mr. Le Van Duc - Chairman of the Board of Directors and Principal of Xanh Tue Duc Primary and Secondary School
At Nghi Loc 2 High School, there are currently 7 buses transporting students daily. Despite the large number, observations indicate that none of the buses have been painted yellow as required. These buses are all contracted directly by parents with transportation companies. The school transportation service is largely unregulated.
In Vinh City, some kindergartens are currently providing transportation for students, but the painting of these vehicles as stipulated in Decree No. 151 has not yet been implemented.
Article 30 of Government Decree No. 151/2024/ND-CP dated November 15, 2024, detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Road Traffic Safety, states: Vehicles used for transporting preschool children and students as stipulated in point a, clause 1, Article 46 of the Law on Road Traffic Safety must be painted a dark yellow on the exterior; the front and two sides above the windows must have signs indicating that the vehicle is specifically for transporting preschool children and students. This regulation contributes to standardizing student transportation services, preventing traffic accidents and unfortunate incidents on school buses. The Decree takes effect from January 1, 2025.
It's difficult to achieve synchronization.
Throughout the province, there are currently about 100 school buses operating in districts such as Nam Dan, Hoang Mai town, Thai Hoa town, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Tan Ky, Anh Son, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Do Luong, and Vinh City. Of these, Vinh City has more than 30 buses, while the remaining districts each have between 2 and 10 buses.
Explaining why the vehicles haven't been painted according to Decree 151, Mr. Tran Nhat Tan - owner of Bong Sen transport company - said: When the contract...shuttle busWith Xanh Tue Duc Primary and Secondary School, we have strictly implemented all the regulations we have committed to. However, the new regulations under Decree 151 present many difficulties due to the very tight preparation time (from the issuance of the document to implementation, there was only a little over two weeks), and businesses need time to prepare.
Another difficulty is the cost of repainting the vehicles, which can amount to tens of millions of dong. Changing the paint color will increase costs, putting pressure on both the school and parents.
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Due to their specific characteristics, only a few private schools currently use their own school buses. The rest, or a small percentage, contract with transportation companies. In addition, many schools operate their own transportation services, with parents contracting with private companies on an informal basis.
Mr. Dinh Quang Trung, owner of Ha Phuc bus company, said: "Currently, we only have contracts with schools to transport students for 9 months. For the remaining months, we serve many different groups. If we paint the buses yellow, it will create difficulties for the school when signing contracts."
Due to the fact that many students at our school live 10-15km away, many parents have proactively contracted with transportation companies to pick up and drop off their children. The current problem is that, in addition to student transportation contracts (according to fixed schedules), these vehicles also have contracts to transport many other groups of people. Therefore, the transportation companies are very cautious when implementing a uniform yellow paint scheme.
Teacher Dang Quoc Chi - Vice Principal of Nghi Loc 2 High School
Due to remaining obstacles, although the regulations have not yet been fully implemented, representatives from many schools are requesting that the authorities provide favorable conditions and grant more time for transportation businesses to develop a roadmap for compliance.
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In light of the above situation, on January 8, 2025, the Department of Transportation sent a document to the Department of Education and Training and the People's Committees of districts, towns, and cities regarding the implementation of regulations to ensure traffic safety for vehicles transporting preschool children and students.
Accordingly, local authorities are required to direct educational institutions and transportation companies that use vehicles to transport students to comply with general regulations on ensuring road traffic order and safety.
Regarding vehicle owners engaged in transportation businesses, they must ensure that their vehicles are equipped with vehicle tracking devices and driver image recording devices, and that the business entity signs a written contract with the transport hirer. Specifically, school buses must have appropriate seat belts, be painted in a dark yellow color, and have identification signs above the windows on the front and sides indicating that the vehicle is a specialized vehicle...
