A regulation on school buses has been in place since 2010. It was set-up by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, and is aimed at ensuring the safety of school buses and providing guidance to those setting up a school bus system.

Safety comes first.

These buses are specially designed to transport children and meet much higher standards than traditional vehicles.

Wang Wenbing, Deputy Head of One School Bus Design Company, said, "School buses measuring under six meters in length must have a "long nose." This reduces the strength of a collision if a traffic accident does occur."

Every bus must also be equipped with a teacher’s seat, two emergency exits and a "black box" that can be used to record accident data.

"We have special standards for the seats. They must be fixed to the floor and facing forward. All these standards are aimed to ensure students’ safety." Wang said.

Every school bus must be able to carry around students, and schools are forbidden from using double-decker buses or articulated buses.

However, it costs at least 300-thousand yuan to refit a traditional bus, and adding running costs, school buses put a heavy financial burden on primary schools and kindergartens.

Parents are worried about the consequences.

"I think the high cost of running school buses may result in some schools ignoring safety standards. That’s not a good thing for students. " Resident said.

To make matters worse, unlicensed buses remain popular among schools in rural areas because it’s much cheaper. But Wednesday’s accidents shows what the consequences this can lead to.

Currently, education departments are not held responsible for the way they run school buses. But many believe this should now change.

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