'Yellow School Bus' Shortage... Nationwide Elementary School Field Trips at Risk of Mass Cancellation

Ministry of Legislation: "School Trips Must Also Use Children's Commuter Buses"
Few Charter Buses Meet Children's Commuter Bus Requirements

There are concerns that elementary schools nationwide may not be able to go on school trips this fall due to the inability to secure 'yellow school buses.'

Children's school bus. [Photo by Geoje City]

According to the education sector on the 24th, the Ministry of Government Legislation issued a legal interpretation last October stating that "field trips also fall under the category of children’s school bus use according to the Road Traffic Act."

Based on this, the National Police Agency sent an official letter in July to the Ministry of Education and the Charter Bus Association Federation, stating that children under the age of 13 must use school buses when going on field trips or school excursions.

However, the number of charter buses that meet the conditions to be registered as children’s school buses is limited, causing confusion among elementary schools nationwide as they change or cancel their school trip schedules.

To convert a regular charter bus into a children’s school bus, the entire vehicle must be painted yellow, and the driver must complete mandatory safety training for children’s school bus drivers. Additionally, the interior of the vehicle must be equipped with children’s boarding guidance signs and seat belts tailored to children’s body sizes.

It is known that converting a bus in this way costs about 5 million won per vehicle. The charter bus industry argues that converting buses for children’s school bus use makes it difficult to use them for other purposes, so conversion is challenging.

An official from the Ministry of Education stated, "We are working with metropolitan and provincial offices of education and related organizations to develop countermeasures to minimize difficulties at school sites." However, a solution has not yet been found.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.