Tashkent Studies Launch of School Bus System

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Tashkent has begun a practical assessment of the feasibility of introducing a School Bus system to provide safer and more convenient transportation for students traveling to schools, the Tashkent Road Traffic Organization Center said.

At the initial stage, specialists are studying parents’ needs, determining how schoolchildren currently travel to educational institutions and collecting data to develop bus routes.

So far, a survey has been conducted at 29 of Tashkent’s 328 schools. Schools with the largest numbers of students were prioritized, as they are expected to have high demand for dedicated school transportation. Family members or guardians of 58,369 schoolchildren have participated in the survey.

Preliminary results show that 38.5% of students walk to school. Another 33.1% are driven to school by their parents in private cars. Buses are used by 18.3% of students, taxis by 5.7% and the metro by 3.5%. Another 0.9% use micromobility vehicles.

Meanwhile, 73.5% of survey participants said they would like to see dedicated bus transportation for schools. The Tashkent Road Traffic Organization Center said the results indicate significant potential demand for a School Bus system.

The survey will gradually continue at the capital’s remaining schools. Once the study is completed, specialists plan to analyze student passenger flows, identify the most in-demand routes, determine the required number of buses and establish operating schedules.

The study will also examine the organization of safe locations for children to board and leave buses, as well as other organizational aspects of the future system.

Based on the analysis, the practical feasibility of launching School Bus services will be assessed. The issue of gradually introducing the system in Tashkent will then be considered jointly with relevant organizations.

Parents have been urged to participate in the survey through the Telegram bot @school_coddbot. The responses are expected to help determine the potential number of School Bus users, as well as the required number of vehicles and routes.