STS is the only ISO Certified School Transport provider having ISO 9001:2008 Quality System Certifications (UKAS Management Systems) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety) Swiss System Certification for the scope of provision of transport services to the Schools, Hotels and Tourism in the UAE.

Transporting large number of students and meeting all safety standards is a very complex operation. Schools have serious business of educating and training students and any operation such as transportation would be a major distraction to them.

School transportation is no longer a routine pick up and drop off of students. It has now become a specialised field. The service sectors have seen a revolutionary growth both in terms of quality and delivery. Outsourcing of transport has taken care of both these values. Safety of students and quality of transportation is as vital as Education and Healthcare.

A continuous research on school transportation is going on in various parts of the world; seminars, conferences and discussions are held regularly. Understanding the importance of school transportation, the Road Transport Authority in Dubai has taken the initiative to implement bus specifications in September 2008. Many schools across the world have outsourced transportation to reputed transport companies specialising in school transportation. The outsourcing of school transportation by GEMS schools in Dubai, in 2008 was well appreciated by the authorities and the parents. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Education praised the move of the GEMS schools in outsourcing the school transportation and recommended the other private schools across the country to adopt the same approach.

Outsourcing school transportation not only helps the schools but also the parents as they can avail safe and high-quality transportation for their children and spares them from the tedious and expensive exercise of dropping and picking up their youngsters themselves. It reduces traffic on the roads and helps to reduce the number of vehicles at the parking zone of the schools which is unsafe and dangerous for the small children moving around.

Students’ transport safety is our prime concern and we strive hard to make school transport a learning experience. We seek the support of the parents, the school authorities and the public to ensure the safety of our students while on the bus and at the parking zones. We can ensure the safety of our students if all concerned fulfil their responsibilities.

Read more about School Bus Safety.

Here at STS, we believe in providing all the students and passengers, safe, secure and reliable experience.

These are just some of the ways in which we strive to achieve this:

• For all our students we try and create an environment in and around the school bus that makes the journey to and from school an integral part of a pupil’s learning.
• Highly safe and professional team of drivers is developed who act as representatives of STS, and they are all equipped with the tools and training necessary to deliver the best.
• Instil in our staff and drivers an understanding of STS brand of service and provide an experience of being a part of STS by training them.

School bus drivers are perceived to be the safest road users in the UAE, according to the results of a recent nationwide survey of transport and road safety.

But even though nearly a third of residents identified school bus drivers as the safest, they also said they would like to see tougher regulations for how buses are operated. Residents said drivers should undergo more rigorous and intensive training and have a minimum of five years’ driving experience in the UAE.

Neither the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority nor Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport requires drivers to have a minimum number of years of experience to get their School Bus Driving Permit. However, they do require applicants to be at least 25 years old, hold a prior UAE driver’s permit, complete a school bus driver basic course and pass a theoretical test, hold a “no criminal precedents certificate” from the police, have a disease-free certificate and proof of drug and alcohol-free status, and speak English and Arabic. And even though the government does not require the drivers to have a minimum number of years’ experience, many school bus companies do.

School Transport Services (STS), which provides transportation to more than 60,000 pupils in 52 schools across the country, only hires drivers with a minimum two years’ experience of driving in the UAE.

“Every bus driver of STS is selected through a rigorous process, and after selection is put through 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training before being deployed,” a spokesman for the company said.

“The school bus drivers of STS are not only screened by STS for the background check but also need to get CID clearance and an RTA permit before they start driving a school bus in the emirate. Along with the refresher course on defensive driving, STS drivers are also trained on customer service, health and safety, student management, firefighting, emergency management, etc.”

An even greater proportion of survey respondents agreed that school bus drivers should undergo background and police checks, and strongly agreed with the idea that drivers should undergo an alcohol breathalyser test before every shift.

Bright Bus Transport, STS’s sister company which employs 140 school bus drivers in Abu Dhabi, conducts random breathalyser tests on its drivers, said Anish Rajan, the company’s business development executive.

“We do understand that it is very important,” said Mr Rajan. “We have zero tolerance for alcohol. The fleet inspectors do check randomly. We also have an internal auditor who inspects everything.”

Survey respondents expressed little tolerance for speeding, with 90 per cent at least favouring the idea that bus drivers who exceed the speed limit should be banned. Sixty-six per cent disagreed with the proposition that bus drivers should be female, while 93 per cent agreed that there should be a female attendant on each bus. Similarly, 91 per cent agreed attendants should also undergo checks.

In Abu Dhabi, bus attendants are regulated by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. In Dubai, the RTA requires attendants to be at least 25 years old, hold a secondary school diploma, attend a school bus driver course and pass a theoretical test, be medically fit and of good conduct.

Survey respondents said the buses themselves should also be checked by registered authorities each week for roadworthiness and inspected monthly by a registered authority or garage. Furthermore, 94 per cent felt the buses should be equipped with cameras.

In Abu Dhabi, school buses are required to have seven CCTV cameras and be equipped with a GPS system. These requirements are not yet enforced in Dubai, but the emirate does require buses to undergo regular maintenance every 10,000 kilometres. Each school bus must also have a speed-control system installed so they cannot exceed 80kph.

Mr Rajan said he was not surprised by the survey findings that called for stricter regulations and monitoring.
“It involves the lives of children and that is the most important thing a person can ever have,” said Mr Rajan. “They should be the safest when they’re travelling on the road.”

Riddhi Tank, a 30-year-old Indian whose son is driven by bus to day care every day, said she had no complaint about school bus drivers. “Compared to taxis, they’re very safe,” said Mrs Tank. “They are not crossing the limit. There is always an attendant there, he follows the traffic rules.” She agreed with most of the survey’s findings, other than the question of a daily breathalyser test. “I don’t think it is required every day,” she said. “Once in a while as a random test, that’s OK, but not daily.”

Poornima Aithal, a 35-year-old Indian living in Abu Dhabi, also agreed with most of the findings, but she had one more suggestion. She said school buses should carry an exterior stop sign, as they do in the US, which forces traffic to stop in both directions when the bus is picking up or dropping off children.
“This I have not found in Abu Dhabi. Because if the school bus stops, the traffic still goes on. Nobody is stopping in traffic. That’s a big concern,” said Mrs Aithal.

School Transport Services signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai on 16th December, 2009 to support and consolidate their strategic partnership in order to unify the efforts to provide services to all classes of customers and to reflect the result of providing such services in social and economic fields.

Through this MOU, RTA and STS will use their best endeavours to consolidate the concept of sustainable transport in the Emirate of Dubai and to offer more transport options to employees thus reducing traffic jams in peak hours. This MOU will also help to exchange institutional knowledge, experiments and experiences in all fields.

Our wish is to provide the best possible service for both parents and students.

We place the safety of the children as our highest priority. We value the parents trust in our service and endeavor to provide the highest standards of care. In this regard our STS Representatives in the schools are in constant touch with the parents. We listen to parents and we love hearing from them. Parents can give feedback directly to the STS Rep at their school, via our toll-free number (800 STSS/8788) or via our Contact Us form.

When schools contract us, they hire a strategic partner who works closely with them to implement solutions, identify opportunities and confront strategic issues.

We believe that a school bus is an extension of a classroom and it is important that the school authorities give adequate attention to the discipline and well-being of the children in buses. It is with this purpose we request the schools to provide Bus Monitors or Conductors for every bus. We also advise the schools to have student monitors, in every bus, who can not only maintain discipline inside the bus but also give feedback to our Customer Care Executives in the school regarding the bus service.

Read more about our school partnerships and contract services.

• Obey the driver’s instructions. The driver of a school bus is in complete charge of students while they are on the bus. Complaints regarding discipline on the bus will be taken to the Principal.
• The driver / bus conductor has the authority to assign seats.
• Students shall remain properly seated while the bus is in motion.
• The windows of the bus must be closed at all time. On no account does any passenger have the right to open a window of a bus. This is in keeping with the preventive measures against any injury to the passenger.
• Refrain from talking to the driver except in an emergency.
• No one shall tamper with any equipment or operate any part of the bus.
• Do not mar or deface the bus. Students caught damaging bus equipment will be subject to disciplinary action and/or restitution.
• There should not be any fighting or profanity on the bus or any loud disturbances.
• Students must not wave or shout at pedestrians or occupants of other vehicles. Do not throw objects from bus windows.
• Eating in the bus is not permitted. Save snacks for snack time at school or till you get home. They may spill or you may choke if the bus goes over a bump.
• Use of tobacco products or drugs is prohibited.
• Bullying / fighting, use of abusive language is not permitted.
• Students are required to ride their assigned bus, unless they have written approval from the Customer Care Executive of STS.

Students must bear their share of responsibility for safety while travelling in school buses.

The privilege of any student to ride a school bus is conditioned upon their good behaviour and observance of the rules and regulations set forth by the school and transport operator. Certain levels of conduct are expected of any and all students riding the bus. All students shall conduct themselves in a manner conducive to the safe transportation of all. No conduct will be tolerated that will in any way cause distraction of a driver’s attention that might result in unsafe operation of the bus. Students are expected to respect the authority of the bus driver and obey his/her instructions. If the rules are followed, all concerned can expect to have a safe bus trip.

Read and learn our Student Bus Behaviour Code.

All STS buses are equipped with GPS tracking devices. These devices enable live tracking of vehicles and students movement on real time basis. This is done to maintain high level of safety for students inside the buses.

Real-time information ensures:

• Adherence to schedule
• Monitoring driving behaviour
• A step towards becoming a green fleet
• Better fleet supervision
• Improved response time
• Lower fuel cost and reduced maintenance cost
• Accurate invoicing

All STS buses are installed with Video Surveillance Systems (CCTV). The system provides recording on the purpose built rugged Digital Video Recorder (DVR). We have carried out due diligence to ensure that the video surveillance system is foolproof and cannot be tampered with.

Continuous monitoring during travel ensures:

• Children are protected from physical dangers
• Deters student violence and enhances safety
• Enforces student behaviour code
• Monitors driver and conductor behaviour onboard
• Evidence recorded and improves investigations
• Protects drivers and improves employee satisfaction