Schoolchildren travel in an overcrowded autorickshaw in Patna. Police have decided to crack the whip on overloaded three-wheelers but they are yet to determine the number of students to be allowed in an auto. Telegraph picture

Patna, July 14: Police have decided to stop overloading of autorickshaws and buses ferrying schoolchildren but are yet to determine on how much is too much.

All the police stations in the state capital were directed to keep tabs on the overloaded vehicles yesterday. Twenty-four hours on, the decision on exactly how many students should be allowed to board an autorickshaw was not taken.

Patna City superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande told The Telegraph: “We have not yet decided about the autorickshaws at present. It is obvious when a vehicle is overloaded. The police officers have been asked to keep a watch. Autorickshaws in which students are crammed would be stopped.”

The case with buses is easier as most school buses in the city have 30 or 40 seats. The police have directed the bus operators to not to allow any student to stand.

A police officer said: “Minibuses have seats between 30 and 40. Around two students can be accommodated in one seat. So a 30-seater bus should have no more than 60 students, and not more than 80 pupils should be allowed in a 40-seater bus.”

He added that a school bus would be stopped immediately if the police found students standing because of unavailability of seats.

Sources said the policemen on duty might take this opportunity to earn a few extra bucks by charging money from autorickshaw drivers on the pretext of overloading. Officers, however, refuted this and claimed that the campaign would be monitored.

Lande said: “Police stations have been asked to go ahead with the campaign from today. They will have to prepare themselves for it. I will be on the road personally to conduct checks by next week. I will also keep a watch on the functioning of the cops.”

Schools, too, would have to take responsibility for their buses. Else they would face the music.

The police will would pull up the schools whose students travel in autorickshaws despite paying transportation fee to the institution.

“If the students of a school charging transportation fee are found travelling by autorickshaws, action would be initiated against the institution. The schools can also face action if their buses are overloaded. All the children should have seats and no one should be seen standing owing to non-availability of seats,” Lande had said earlier.

The police said the guardians taking wards to schools should also be cautious.

“Many parents carry three or more children to and from schools on their two-wheelers. The police will be looking out for them too,” the officer said.

On June 20, a family of four were travelling on a two-wheeler. The driver lost control over it at Anisabad More and the pillion riders fell down. A truck crushed a child and the mother.

A majority of the city-based schools don’t have a proper bus service. In the absence of school buses, guardians hire autorickshaws for transportation of their wards. At present, only two schools in Patna have got complete bus facility for their students. Most of the rest hire private operators for transportation.

“I reside in Patna Sahib area and the bus of the school of my ward doesn’t come here. So other guardians and I have hired an autorickshaw for our children,” said a parent.