Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) plans to offer schools the option of hiring buses to transport students, the government entity has said.

The RTA says it will launch the new service in the academic year starting in September with 50 buses, and plans to gradually increase its fleet to 650 over the next nine years.

The move comes as the authority aims to encourage more school students to use buses, said RTA Chairman Mattar Al Tayer. “Dubai has a strength of 253,000 students, of whom 151,000 use school buses, which is 60%. The RTA is seeking to raise this proportion to 70%.”

Al Tayer has issued an administrative order establishing the School Transport Department affiliated to the Dubai Taxi Corporation. The new department’s tasks include mapping annual operation plans, drafting future programmes for school transport activity, contracting with schools to provide students transit services, and operating the bus fleet.

The RTA also inspects and monitors school buses in 356 public and private schools and nurseries, Al Tayer added.

The government body is keen on boosting school transport safety through awareness campaigns, training workshops, and issuing fines to bus operators who flout rules, the chairman said. “About 2,916 offences were reported in 2010 and the number dropped to 2,467 offences in 2012 before going up to 3,086 offences in 2014.”

As a result of the campaigns, however, awareness among bus operators has increased. This has led to a drop in the number of school bus accidents, from 81 accidents resulting in one fatality and six injuries in 2007 to 10 accidents in 2010. The number fell further to five accidents and zero fatalities in 2014, the RTA said.