Furthering its efforts at training school bus staff, Tata Motors today announced plans on furthering its unique School Bus Safety program called ‘Hamare Bus Ki Baat Hai’. Through Hamare Bus Ki Baat Hai, Tata Motors will organise workshops to educate drivers and school bus staff on the safety of school bus travel, along with creating awareness on the softer aspects of dealing with parents and children. After a successful pilot program across 25 schools in Mumbai, Tata Motors will now take the initiative to over 40 cities, including the five metros – New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
Whether a teacher, a parent, a school bus driver or a partner in the school bus industry, it is of paramount importance that one is committed to educating today’s youth and motoring public, on the importance of school bus safety. Apart from working with enforcement agencies and educational authorities in adhering to school bus guidelines laid down by the Honorable Supreme Court of India, Tata Motors has furthered the cause by designing and bringing together all those involved in the travel of school children, through various interactive programs.
‘Hamare Bus Ki Baat Hai’ is an interactive training session which has been designed with inputs from various stake holders, with the objective to sensitise school bus staff on the safety of school bus travel. Since its inception the program has helped in creating a sense of involvement among participants, increasing awareness about their duties and responsibilities, maintaining personal hygiene, general etiquette and behavior, and also taking necessary measures in case of accidents.
Mr. R Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President, (Commercial), Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said, “Each day, at countless bus stops across the country, parents entrust schools with what’s most precious to them – their children! Undoubtedly, this is a huge responsibility that places enormous pressure on schools and various people associated in transporting their children to and from school. Through this campaign, Tata Motors is partnering with parents, schools and transport authorities to help manage this responsibility. After having initially conducted about 25 such ‘Hamare Bus Ki Baat Hai’ events in Mumbai, we intend to organise about 300 such events across the country.”
Mr. Gaurav Podar, Trustee, Podar International School, said, “Safety is of paramount importance to every school and through these initiatives, we are happy to partner with Tata Motors in imparting a very important element of safety for our children, in School Bus travel. Our school participated in the ‘Hamare Bus Ki Baat Hai’ campaign, which has been very well received by our school bus staff. We would like to thank Tata Motors for playing such an active role in our school.”
While the ‘Hamare Bus Ki Baat Hai’ addresses drivers and school bus staff, the ongoing ‘Dream it to Win it’ – a national level essay and painting competition is aimed at children. The Company will initiate another school bus safety program in the next financial year, titled ‘Safety Hamaare Bus Mein’, a mock drill session on fire and safe school bus travel, for children.
The ‘Dream it to Win it’ contest received participation from over 3,000 schools in a national level essay & painting competition. The contest helped in showcasing the talent of children and enhancing their awareness levels on the importance of safe school bus travel.
‘Safety Hamaare Bus Mein’, this programme is designed to educate school children on effective handling of safety provisions in a bus, a mock fire drill, tips on safe travel, drills on safe entry / exit, emergency evacuation and other softer aspects of dealing with school bus staff. The training includes a virtual experience film showing safe travel and a safety quiz in school. This campaign is set to kick-off in the next financial year.