Hundreds of overloaded private school vans and Suzuki pickups can be seen in the morning and at off time of schools violating traffic rules in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Despite paying a substantial amount for pick and drop services for their school going children, parents remain in grip of fear as these vehicles are heavily loaded by the drivers. A private school van that has a seating capacity of not more then 10 kids is often seen packed with more than 20 children, which is highly unsafe for the children.
Shazia Kareem, a mother, said the school van that picks and drops her son seats around 21 children, although the van’s seating capacity is only 10 kids. “I know overloading can be dangerous but what can I do. If I ask the van driver to reduce the number of kids, they demand more money which I can’t afford,” she added. “I asked the van driver several times not to overload the vehicle, as it’s not only disturbing for the children but also very risky. But he rejecting my request, stating I can’t meet expenses if I pick the children according to the van’s seating capacity,” said a mother. Hamza Abrar, a school going child in overcrowded school van, said that it’s very difficult to sit in a bending position all the way. “Almost everyday, the boys fight to get a proper seat, as it is difficult to even breathe in the tightly packed van,” he added. Muhammad Irfan, a van driver, said that the wave of inflation has affected them badly. “I know the seating capacity of my van is only 10, but it is impossible for me to survive, as the price of petrol and other items is increasing day by day.”
Another driver, talking to APP, said he earns some profit after working for the morning and evening shifts for schools. He said normally people think that pick and drop is a very profitable business but there’s no truth behind it due to the souring fuel prices as well as the monthly maintenance of the van. “Parents only blame us for overloading the van which is unethical as well as a violation of traffic rules but they refuse to pay us any more amount if we go seat by seat, which is not only expensive for us but for the parents as well,” he added.