Taichung Councilor Highlights Student Transport Safety; City Government Responds with 4 Protective Measures

Central News Agency Report

(Central News Agency reporter Hsueh-Ching Hao, Taichung, June 14) To prevent school bus transportation from becoming a safety blind spot, Democratic Progressive Party Taichung City Councilor Chou Yung-hung today urged the city government to review its student transportation safety protocols. The Taichung City Government responded that it is continuously safeguarding student safety through four key measures, including personnel qualification checks and educational training.

Citing media reports, Chou Yung-hung pointed out that a school bus driver in central Taiwan is suspected of using religious rhetoric to lure and sexually assault multiple students. This case serves as a warning to all counties and cities that a child boarding a school bus does not automatically guarantee their safety. The Taichung City Government must immediately assess student transportation safety measures rather than waiting for tragedies to occur before patching up the system.

Chou noted that Taichung has a large number of school buses, kindergarten shuttle vans, cram school transport vehicles, and special education transportation services. Although this incident did not occur in Taichung, it should serve as a wake-up call. When transportation staff gain students' trust through their roles and then exploit religion, emotions, or power imbalances to manipulate children, risks often hide in the daily routines of going to and from school.

Chou emphasized that the city government should examine whether current systems focus only on whether vehicles are licensed, drivers have valid licenses, and basic documents are in place, while overlooking potential misconduct such as inappropriate invitations, private contact, or abuse of authority that may arise from prolonged interaction between transport staff and students. What needs strengthening is not just background checks, but an entire student transportation safety management system. He called for cross-departmental collaboration within the city government to strengthen oversight.

In response, the Taichung City Government's Education Bureau stated that student transportation safety is closely linked not only to traffic safety but also to child protection and campus security. The city government continues to comprehensively safeguard student safety through four major measures: personnel qualification verification, educational training, transportation management, and joint inspections.

The Education Bureau emphasized that all personnel who, by virtue of their duties, have long-term contact with students should be included in child protection and unfit personnel management frameworks. Going forward, the bureau will continue collaborating with relevant departments to strengthen personnel management, training programs, and reporting mechanisms to jointly create a safe and supportive learning environment. (Edited by Chang Ya-ching) 1150614

Stand with the facts. Your support is a vital force in defending press freedom.

Download the Central News Agency 'First News' app to stay updated with the latest developments.

Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.