China to improve school bus safety system

China's safety watchdog said Saturday that the country will establish and improve its school bus safety management system over the next four years.

Xu Zhongmei, an officer at the Shuijiahu police station in Changfeng county, Anhui Province, teaches students from a local kindergarten how to use the seat belt in a school bus on Monday.

School buses have prioritized right of way in traffic, and governments at all levels must continue to step up school bus safety checks, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan on Road Traffic Safety (2011-2015) issued by the Safety Committee Office of the State Council, or Cabinet.

The plan said all school buses and coaches must be installed with GPS systems by 2015, and every seat in the buses and coaches must be equipped with seat belts by 2013, in a bid to reduce the number of traffic accidents and death tolls.

Over the next four years, the country will work out and perfect school bus safety regulations and standards, as well as introduce more policies to support the development of school buses.

Meanwhile, public transportation will be available in all townships by 2015, and more than 90 percent of villages will be accessible by public transport, according to the plan.