Parents urge Dubai schools to step up security at bus drop-offs

Parents of some school-going kids in Dubai have expressed concern over their safety during bus drop-offs. According to them, not all school bus companies insist on parent/guardian IDs at the collection points.

This oversight could impact their child’s safety, residents highlight.

“My child is in kindergarten and she’s not mature enough to raise an alarm or suspect something’s amiss if I’m not there to pick her up,” says Nair, a resident of Discovery Gardens.

“So, if a person she recognises offers to drop her home, she might just go. He/she could be anyone from the building watchman to our neighbour.” Nair’s daughter goes to a reputed Indian school in the locality, but the school bus operator has not issued a parent/guardian ID.

“As a parent, this is worrying. Bus attendants must insist on the ID when a child is being picked up,” insisted another parent of a five-year-old. Meenakshi’s four-year-old son goes to a school in Al Twar, and uses the school bus transport.

“Although we don’t have an ID system in place, the bus attendant recognises me and my husband. But, it’s not ideal. Anything could happen. Are we waiting for something untoward to happen to then make ID cards mandatory?”

Andrew, a resident of Mirdif, claims this should be a norm in all schools. “We shouldn’t wait till something untoward happens for this to become mandatory.”

Even if the ID card system turns out to be cumbersome and time-consuming, it could definitely erase possible threats or security concerns.

While the Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA) ‘guiding manual of school transport in the emirate of Dubai’ lists out a set of guidelines for the school bus operators, highlighting numerous safety steps, the need to issue parent/guardian ID is not listed.

That said, some school bus operators have incorporated this in their safety checklist.

School Transport Services (STS), which has 1,600 buses in its fleet, states clearly that the operator will not hand over a child without a parent/guardian ID.

“Parents of all students of Grade 6 and below will be issued with guardian cards by STS. It is essential to produce the guardian card to receive the student at the drop-off point. The students can be received by the parents / relatives / parents of other students / maids or any other authorised adult with the guardian card,” their manual reads.

Simi, a parent of a student using the STS transport validates this claim. “Yes, we have been issued ID cards, and need to keep it while picking up our child. It really helps. In fact, if I’m late or have asked someone else to step in, the bus attendant calls me to verify before handing the child over.”

Some of the other school bus operators that Emirates24|7 contacted admit they don’t follow the ID system. These are Arab Falcon Transport, Fancy Transport and Busco Passengers Transport and bus rentals.

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