It will also be illegal to overtake another vehicle while driving in an area designated as a school zone in the new rules drawn by Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.
Boda boda riders will be in trouble for transporting unaccompanied children below 12 years and for failing to provide the prescribed protective gear.
The Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2024 state that a learner below 12 years will be required to sit between the rider and an adult and wear a helmet designed for children.
“These rules apply to all school vehicles and transportation of school children in Kenya,” the regulations obtained by the Star read.
Students using motorbikes to school will not be allowed to have any luggage in their hands during the trip.
“All luggage should be carried in a carrier or backpack,” the rules NTSA wants members of the public to give their views on read in part. “A rider should not carry any other luggage when transporting children.”
The rules set tough conditions for drivers and school vehicle attendants, school bus/vehicle body structure, and procedures for their operation.
The buses ferrying children to school will be required to have special fittings.
“All school vehicles will be fitted with the dual red light indicator on the uppermost part of the front and rear sides of the bus,” the rules read.
While the yellow colour has been retained in the current proposals, the rules provide for special inscriptions on the body of the bus.
Buses and all school vehicles will have the words “SCHOOL BUS” printed on both sides and “DO NOT PASS WHEN RED LIGHTS ARE FLASHING” at the rear.
Vehicles must be installed with stop signal arms on the front and the rear right-hand side.
They will be fitted with a “vehicular telematic system” approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
When former President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration ordered that all school buses be painted yellow, school heads lamented about the additional expenditure.
However the rules provide that only compliant vehicles will be allowed on the road, and those in violation risk having their licenses revoked.
“The authority may suspend or revoke a school transport provider license or a school vehicle road license issued under these rules upon a breach of the conditions and/or requirements of the Act and these rules.”
Among the conditions, especially for private players, is that they must state their physical address.
Students have borne the greatest brunt in the recent wave of road accidents in the country, leaving scores dead and dozens of others injured – some critically.
NTSA data shows that since the year began, more than 700 people have died in various forms of road accidents.
Under the new regulations, school vehicles will be inspected every six months and required to have comprehensive insurance cover.
Most school transporters currently have third-party insurance coverage. But going forward, they won’t be allowed to operate unless they comply.
School vehicles will be fitted with functional safety belts designed to be used by children and all seats shall be fixed and not foldable.
The seats, the rules say, will also be free from sharp edges and made with shock-absorbent and fire-resistant materials.
“The seat handles, if any, shall be covered with material that prevents injury in any collision.”
NTSA also seeks to provide that there shall be no bars or any other obstructions fixed on the windows whether from outside or inside.
“Each school vehicle shall conform with the applicable Kenyan Standards in force relating to body construction and speed limiters,” the rules read.
Private transporters will be required to present to NTSA copies of the certificate of registration as a company or cooperative society.
National identification for individuals or a certificate of registration from the Education Ministry will be accepted.
No transporter will be allowed to operate without a valid transport service license issued by the NTSA.
In a recent interview, NTSA Director General George Njao told the Star that the authority will enforce the rules once it gets the concurrence of MPs.
“We identified a risk on school transport, not the regulated school buses but parents who have contracted certain individuals to provide transport for their school-going children,” he said.
"The idea is to give parents the comfort of knowing where their child has been picked and dropped, and how the vehicle is being operated,” the NTSA director general said.
Persons applying for such a license will be required to pay Sh2,000 every year as application and renewal fee for school transport.
Applications and renewal of school vehicle road licenses per year will cost Sh1,500 as per the proposed rules.
“The authority may conduct safety and compliance checks on school service providers to confirm compliance with these rules.”
School vehicle attendants will be licensed by the NTSA as PSV conductors and will be subjected to annual assessments for criminal record.
Drivers, on the other hand, will be required to be qualified for the class of vehicle being driven and undergo annual criminal record assessment.
“This shall include convictions of child abuse and incidents of arrest for violence. A school vehicle attendant who possesses a criminal record containing conviction for child abuse or crimes involving violence would be disqualified.”
School vehicles shall operate between 5am and 10pm. They will not carry any other person other than teachers, parents, guardians, school officials, and drivers in training when students are being transported.
The rules also bar students from hanging in the bus or boarding and alighting from the bus haphazardly.
“Vehicles shall not stop near the crest of hills, on curves, or on upgrades or downgrades of severe inclination,” the rules read.
Among other safety issues are that the driver shall not leave the vehicle running unattended and the fuel tank should only be filled when students are outside the vehicle.
NTSA rules also provide that each student must be allocated a seat and no excess passengers will be allowed in the vehicles.
“Any person who contravenes this commits an offence,” the rules read, providing for fines of up to Sh20,000 or six months in jail.
It will be a criminal offence to disobey the instructions of a crosswalk attendant when stopped to allow schoolchildren or school buses to pass.
Kenyans have been urged to give their views on the regulations aimed at enhancing road safety.
“In the spirit of public participation, as envisaged in the Constitution, the authority hereby invites the public to submit their memorandum on the draft regulations and to participate in the public forums,” part of the notice by NTSA reads.
The public participation will take place in 14 regions including Garissa, Meru, Nairobi, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Kisumu, Kisii, Kericho, Nakuru, Nyeri, Kilifi, Mombasa, Taita Taveta and Embu.
