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Patna, Feb. 11: It’s official. All school buses in the city have to be painted yellow. As the colour suggests, they will go slow — at a maximum speed of 20km per hour.

Four days after DAV School student Shweta Suman was mowed down by a bus of her own school, Patna traffic police have come out with a long list of regulations for the school buses. Superintendent of police (traffic) Ajit Kumar Sinha today told The Telegraph the process of distributing the set of regulations had started.

Schools not paying heed to the regulations would be penalised. Their buses would be confiscated for an indefinite period of time, Sinha told The Telegraph.

The regulations, meant for both the bus operators and the schools, are simple and straight (see graphics), Sinha said.

The school bus drivers should have a minimum driving experience of five years. They should be in uniform while on duty. Before starting for the day, they will have to check their buses thoroughly.

The drivers of school buses will not be entitled to overtake any four-wheeler.

According to the new set of rules, a speed governor has to be installed in school buses. The telephone numbers of the school and the traffic police control room (0612-2203385, 0612-2219543) should be displayed on the buses clearly.

The school buses will have to pick up students from designated bus stands and the number of students in each bus should be in accordance with the seats available.

There is a set of rules for conductors of school buses as well. They will have to ensure children enter and exit the buses carefully. They will have to ensure students are properly seated when inside the bus and crossed roads carefully after alighting.

Once buses reach the schools, the conductors will have to make students stand in a queue and ensure they are crossing the road carefully if the bus has stopped outside the school premises. Also, it is the job of the bus conductors to ensure that the first aid box of the bus has fresh medicines.

The school authorities will also have to ensure that their buses have first aid box and fire extinguishers.

Sinha said: “One school bus should have students of a single school. Students of two different schools will not be allowed to travel in a bus.”