School buses cannot exceed 50% of overall capacity: RTA

The number of students on board school buses must not exceed 50 per cent of the vehicle's total capacity.

That's according to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), which held a remote video workshop for school bus operators in Dubai in order to discuss the precautionary measures ahead of the new academic year. 

The safety requirements included measuring the temperature of both staff and students before they get on the bus. 

Officials also clarified that closed-off seats must be clearly marked in order to ensure that physical distancing guidelines are met. 

However, children from the same family will be allowed to sit together. 

Meanwhile, the RTA said bus operators must ensure that students have designated seats, and a list of bus riders and drivers are updated regularly, to enable contact tracing. 

School Bus Operators will also need to ensure that cleaning procedures of seats, windows, railings and other high-contact surfaces are carried out thoroughly. 

All passengers and drivers are required to sanitize their hands before and after being on the bus.

Measures are also subject to further revisions by the Dubai Health Authority during the school year, should the circumstances change in the future.

طرق #دبي تنظم ورشة توعوية، حضرها 120 من ممثلي المدارس ومشغلي حافلات النقل المدرسي بدبي، لحماية الطلبة من تداعيات كورونا. وركزت الورشة على الإجراءات الاحترازية الواجب اتباعها لمواجهة تداعيات انتشار فيروس كورونا خلال نقل الطلبة مع اقتراب العام الدراسي الجديدhttps://t.co/l7Kof8bPAu pic.twitter.com/DpyP1uCFAx

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 18, 2020