Sharjah school buses get roads to themselves

Police hope to ease traffic congestion this academic year by allowing only school buses to use certain roads.

SHARJAH // Police will try to ease traffic congestion at the start of the academic year by allowing only school buses to use certain roads and discouraging parents from driving their children to school. Col Mohammed Eid al Madhloom, the director of the Sharjah Police Operations Room, said between 6am and 8am, all other traffic would be banned from roads leading to schools. Police personnel will be assigned to redirect traffic. "The good thing is that most of the villa schools have been banned and the big private and government schools are almost all in one area," said Col Madhloom. Police will also patrol outside every school to ensure students disembark safely from school buses, he said. Officers will distribute leaflets to students in an effort to create road-safety awareness in a campaign that will target pupils from kindergarten to high school. They will also distribute school bags. "With all this new arrangement, we hope parents taking their children in private cars will have to reconsider and start using school buses," he said. "But we would also extend another request to schools that they use drivers and trained supervisors in school buses, who can properly handle the students as this is the excuse given by parents who choose to take their own children," said Col Madhloom. Last year, 13,611 students used the 195 school buses in the emirate, at an annual cost of between Dh2,000 and Dh3,000 each. Increased development in Sharjah has caused traffic congestion on several roads and police are concerned that traffic jams will make children late for school. Motorists have frequently complained there are not enough alternative routes or diversions to ease congestion, but officials have said motorists must be patient as authorities work to solve the problems. @email:[e-mail]