The State Council approved a draft of regulations on school bus safety management in a meeting held Wednesday, Xinhua reported.

The draft regulation, which draws from experiences gathered in China and overseas, asks local governments to ensure that students attend nearby schools or boarding schools so as to reduce students' traffic risks.

For rural areas that cannot ensure close proximity of the school or convenient public transport, measures are to be taken to ensure students' access to school buses.

The new regulations set out stricter requirements for the school bus drivers' abilities and qualifications and rules for the buses' maximum speed and capacity. School buses have also been given the right-of-way on the road.

(China.org.cn, CNTV March 31, 2012)

據新華社報道，國務院在周三舉行的一次會議上批準了校車安全管理條例草案。

該條例草案是通過學習國內外相關經驗而制定的。條例草案要求地方政府保障學生能就近入學或在寄宿學校，以減少學生交通風險。

那些不能保證學生就近入學，或不能提供便利公交的農村地區，必須采取措施保證學生獲得校車服務。

該條例對校車駕駛員的資格能力做出更為嚴格的要求，并對校車的最高時速和載客量做了規定，還賦予校車通行優先權。