The ban on transporting groups of children over 10 years old on buses may be lifted. The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared amendments to the rules for "organized transportation of groups of children by bus," which will allow this summer. 2020 years which caused a big stir in the market resonance the innovation must come into force.
As emphasized in the explanatory note, the 10-year limitation on the use of buses will lead to the cessation of activities of a number of carriers in the field of children's tourism.
"However, the use of buses less than 10 years old cannot guarantee a higher level of transportation safety. The primary condition for the safe operation of a bus is its technical condition and compliance with safety requirements," the document states.
It also notes that age-based bus usage regulations are not applied in the vast majority of countries around the world.
"The fleet of tourist buses, used in particular for transporting children, consists of foreign-made buses that fall under the M3 category, as stipulated by the technical regulations of the Customs Union," the Ministry of Economic Development clarified.
They also added that when used for tourist and excursion transportation, buses have an annual mileage of no more than 45,000–50,000 kilometers. By the age of 10, their total mileage rarely exceeds 500,000 kilometers, and with full maintenance, this is less than half of the service life—not even the total service life, but rather the time before major component repairs.
"Using a comfortable tourist bus for a 10-year period is unprofitable for organizations operating in the children's tourism sector, which in turn increases the cost of children's tourism products. Therefore, this regulation is excessive and contributes to unnecessary expenses for businesses. It could lead to an increase in accidents and a deterioration in the safety of children's transportation, as bus owners will stop servicing and repairing their buses before they reach their 'ultimate' service life," the explanatory note states.
Source: trn-news.ru