Due to increased concerns about the safety of students, the South African Department of Transport has since July 2025 implemented updated regulations regarding school transport services. These laws were changed to heighten the safety of vans and buses carrying school learners, reduce road accidents, and ensure increased compliance with licensing and operational regulations.
New Vehicle Safety Requirements
According to the updated regulations, every vehicle for school transport, be it a minibus, van, or bus, must comply with the new safety requirements. These include such issues as seatbelt installation for every passenger, regular mechanical inspections, GPS tracking systems for monitoring in real-time, and emergency exits there to be used. Owners should provide valid roadworthy certificates more frequently to guarantee that vehicles carrying learners are always in proper condition.
Driver Regulations: Qualifications & Background Checks
An important change in the 2025 transport rules is the introduction of background checks for all school transport drivers as a requirement. The law states, inter alia, that drivers must hold a valid Professional Driving Permit (PDP) and have no serious traffic offences or criminal convictions.
They must also be given an annual medical fitness certificate and complete a Department of Transport-approved road safety training course. In addition, drivers are required to get an annual certificate of medical fitness and must successfully complete a standard road safety training course approved by the Department of Transport.
Passenger Limit and Vehicle Type Regulations
The beginning of passenger limits according to vehicle capacity is another important feature of this new law that formalizes the practice over time. Loading beyond limits-was never good for learners and will now be greeted with severe consequences, including license cancellation and hefty fines.
Only vehicle types so designated by the department will be allowed to carry learners, thereby malpracticed, unofficial, and other unconventional vehicles would be barred from carrying out school-learner transport.
Registration and Monitoring Systems
These operators should therefore register their services with the provincial Department of Transport, giving documentation about each vehicle in the fleet. Each school transport vehicle, once registered, will be allocated a digital transport ID and henceforth be monitored through a central database. From these come the increased number of spot checks and surprise inspections, primarily during school term time, to ascertain continued compliance.
Parental and School Roles in Safety Oversight
Ordinarily, the government would be referring to schools and parents as active participants in the oversight of student transport. Schools must satisfy themselves that any transport provided by way of contract with them is compliant by meeting all standards put down in the regulations, while parents should make their observations public by reporting any breaches and concerns in respect of the transport providers to local authorities. Community transport committees are being introduced in designated areas in order to provide an additional layer of accountability.
Implications for Operators and the Transport Industry
While being welcomed for the child safety element, many operators at the lower and informal levels have expressed extreme concern about the heavy financial burden they are expected to bear to comply with the regulations.
The government has therefore announced that funding and grants may be available to registered operators who need assistance in vehicle and/or training upgrades. Industry associations are joining forces with the Department of Transport in this effort so that the new system can be introduced smoothly.
Conclusion
A very significant step has thus been taken towards protecting learners and providing safe transport across the country in the one thousand and twenty-fifth amendment to South African school transport laws.
These are well-known safety features that are put into place by the law, tighter regulations, and increased community participation, all geared toward providing a genuinely secure and reliable transport environment for every child enrolled in school. Transport providers, parents, and educators must now unite in maintaining these standards and full-fledged implementation across the board in all corners.