Amendment No.

2 17 September 2013
To
AIS-063:2005 Requirements for School Buses

1. Page 2/6, Clause 3.4.2.2

Delete clause 3.4.2.2

PRINTED BY

THE AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF INDIA

P. B. NO. 832, PUNE 411 004

ON BEHALF OF

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STANDARDS COMMITTEE

UNDER

CENTRAL MOTOR VEHICLES RULES - TECHNICAL STANDING COMMITTEE

SET-UP BY

MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS

(DEPARTMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS)

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

17 September 2013

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 AMENDMENT NO. 1: 2010
TO
AIS-063: 2005 Requirements for School Buses

1. Page 1/ 6, cl. 1.0, Scope:

Substitute following scope for existing scope:

1.0 SCOPE This standard lays down special requirements for school
buses over and above the requirements laid for buses in
“AIS: 052- Code of Practice for Bus Body Design and Approval”.
The standard shall apply to buses with a seating capacity of
13 passengers and above excluding driver meant for transporting
school children to and from school. These additional
requirements are being laid down for the following reasons.

(i) To maximize safety and minimize severity of injuries.

(ii) To take care of specific needs related to school going
children.

2. Page 1/6, cl. 3.1.2:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.1.2 Insignia Location

The ‘school bus insignia’ shall have a dimension of

350 x 350 mm and a back drop of golden yellow colour with
the symbol in black colour. The template drawn to 1:2 scale
is shown in Figure 1. This shall be provided on the outer
surface of the bus in a visible location on the front and the rear.
In case, if it is not possible to accommodate insignia of size
350 x 350 mm, size can be reduced to 200 x 200 mm.

3. Page 2/6, cl. 3.2.1:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.2.1 Position and Number of Emergency Exits: All school buses

other than mini & midi, shall have an emergency exit on
the opposite side of the service door. In addition, there shall be
an emergency exit on the rear side of the bus. However, in case
of mini & midi school buses, there shall be a minimum of one
emergency exit and same shall be situated either on the
opposite side of the service door or at the rear side of the bus.
The lower edge of the emergency door shall be at the level
of the bus floor and top edge shall be at the level of window
upper edge.

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4. Page 2/6, cl. 3.2.2:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.2.2 Passenger Safety: Whenever the bus passenger door or

emergency Exit/door opens, the driver of the bus must get the
indication of the same through a buzzer. The emergency doors
shall be kept closed in the normal condition.

5. Page 2/6, cl. 3.3:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.3 Vehicle Entry: The lowest footstep height shall not be more than
300 mm from the ground and the vehicle may be provided with
folding or retracting steps and if provided, vehicle shall be
incapable of motion without folding or retracting the steps.

6. Page 2/6, cl. 3.4.1.1:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.4.1.1 All parts in `Critical Safety Zone’ shall have a radius of not
less than 25 mm. Also, buses shall meet the requirements of
interior fittings as specified in AIS-047 as amended from
time to time.

Note: Critical Safety Zone is the vertical plane of height

400 mm and width 300 mm. The lower edge of rectangle is
at height of 200 mm from seat top and centralized about
each passenger body axis. (Refer Figure 2)

7. Page 2/6, cl. 3.4.2.1:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.4.2.1 Storage racks of 300 mm minimum depth to be provided

beneath all passenger seats, except the seats mounted above
rear tyre hump and last row of seat.

8. Page 2/6, cl. 3.4.3:

Substitute following text for existing text:

3.4.3 Seat Layout: All seats should be forward facing except in the
case of seats facing the passenger step well, which should not
face the door. Alternatively a partition which prevents the child
from falling into the step well shall be provided. However, this
requirement of partition shall not be applicable to buses in
which passenger step well does not exist.

2/3
9. Page 2/6 Add following new clause 3.4.4 after clause 3.4.3:

3.4.4 Seat Dimensions: Every seating position for school children

shall be at least 265 mm in width and 350 mm in depth.

PRINTED BY
THE AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
P.B. NO. 832, PUNE 411 004

ON BEHALF OF
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STANDARDS COMMITTEE
UNDER
CENTRAL MOTOR VEHICLE RULES – TECHNICAL STANDING COMMITTEE
SET-UP BY
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS
(DEPARTMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS)
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
April 2010

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 AIS-063

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STANDARD

Requirements for School Buses

PRINTED BY:
THE AUTOMOTIVE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
P.B. NO. 832, PUNE 412 004

ON BEHALF OF:
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY STANDARDS COMMITTEE

UNDER
CENTRAL MOTOR VEHICLE RULES - TECHNICAL STANDING COMMITTEE

SET-UP BY
MINISTRY OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS
( DEPARTMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIFHWAYS )
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

June 2005

I
 AIS -063

Status Chart of the Standard to be used by the purchaser

for updating the record
Sr. Corr- Amend- Revision Date Remark Misc.
No. igenda ment

General Remarks:

II
 AIS-063

INTRODUCTION
The Government of India felt the need for a permanent agency to expedite the
publication of standards and development of test facilities in parallel when the
work on the preparation of the standards is going on, as the development of
improved safety critical parts can be undertaken only after the publication of the
standard and commissioning of test facilities. To this end, the Ministry of Surface
Transport (MOST) has constituted a permanent Automotive Industry Standard
Committee (AISC) vide order No. RT-11028/11/97-MVL dated September 15,
1997. The standards prepared by AISC will be approved by the permanent CMVR
Technical Standing Committee (CTSC). After approval, the Automotive Research
Association of India, (ARAI), Pune, being the secretariat of the AIS Committee,
has published this standard. For better dissemination of this information ARAI
may publish this document on their Web site.

The need was felt to specially address the requirements pertaining to school
buses, giving importance to the safety of school children.

This standard lays down the specific requirements for school buses and would be
a necessary adjunct to the “Code of Practice for Bus Body Design and Approval –
AIS-052.”

The Automotive Industry Standards Committee responsible for preparation of this

standard is given in Annexure: I

III
 AIS-063
Requirements for School Buses
1.0 SCOPE :

This standard lays down special requirements for school buses over and
above the requirements laid for buses in “AIS : 052 – Code of practice
for bus body design and approval ”. The standard will apply to M2 and
M3 category of vehicles with a seating capacity of 13 passengers and
above excluding driver meant for school bus application. These
additional requirements are applicable for buses used for transporting
children to and from school, which is henceforth, referred to as “School
Bus”. These additional requirements are being laid down for the
following reasons.

(i) To maximize safety and minimize severity of injuries.

(ii) To take care of specific needs related to school going children.

2.0 DEFINITIONS :

For the purposes of this standard the following definitions shall apply.

2.1 ‘Stop signal arm’ is a device that can be extended outward from the
side of school bus, to provide a signal to other motorists not to pass
the bus because it has stopped to load or discharge passengers.

2.2 ‘Speed governor’ is a device used to limit the speed of a school bus.

2.3 ‘Retracting step’ is a step used for entry into bus, but when not in use
can be retracted inward and upward to enable normal operation of the
bus.

2.4 ‘School bus insignia’ is the symbol to be imprinted on the bus. This is
used internationally as a symbol for child safety (Refer Figure 1)

3.0 REQUIREMENTS :

3.1 Identification :

3.1.1 All school buses must have an external colour of `Golden Yellow’. This
colour shall be as per IS 5 – 1994 ( as amended from time to time ) For
school identification, a band of 150mm wide of `Golden Brown’ colour
may be provided on all sides of the bus below the window level.

3.1.2 The ‘school bus insignia’ shall have a dimension of 350 x 350 mm and a
back drop of golden yellow colour with the symbol in black colour. The
template drawn to 1:2 scale is shown in Figure 1. This shall be provided
on the outer surface of the bus in a visible location preferably above the
windscreen safety glass in the front and above the safety glass at the
rear.

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 AIS-063
3.2 Emergency Exits :

3.2.1 Position and Number of Emergency Exits : All school buses shall
have an emergency door on rear half of the bus on the right hand side. In
addition, there shall be an emergency exit on the rear side of the bus. The
lower edge of the emergency door shall be at the level of the bus floor
and top edge shall be at the level of window upper edge.

3.2.2 Passenger Safety : Whenever the bus passenger door or the emergency
door or rear emergency exit opens, the bus should be incapable of
motion. Besides this the driver of the bus must get the indication of the
same through a flashing light or buzzer or suitable means. The
emergency doors shall be kept closed in the normal condition and
children should also be trained to operate these doors.

3.3 Vehicle Entry :

The lowest footstep height shall not be more than 220 mm from the
ground and the vehicle shall be incapable of motion without folding or
retracting the steps.

3.4 Seat Design :

3.4.1 Interior Protection :

3.4.1.1 All parts in `Critical Safety Zone’ shall have a radius of not less than
25mm. Alternatively its shore hardness shall not be more than
20 Shore A hardness.

Note: Critical safety zone is the vertical plane of height 400mm and
width 300mm. The lower edge of rectangle is at height of 200mm from
seat top and centralized about each passenger body axis.(Refer Figure 2 )

3.4.1.2 All parts in gangway up to height of 1200 mm from bus floor shall have
a radius not less than 25mm. Alternatively its shore hardness shall not
be more than 20 Shore A hardness.

3.4.2 Storage Racks :

3.4.2.1 Storage racks to be provided beneath all seats, except the driver seat,
co-driver seat and the last row of seats.

3.4.2.2 Storage rack to be of dimensions not less than 350 mm depth, 500 mm
width and clearance height of 300 mm to store the belongings of school
children such as school bags, lunch box and water bottles.

3.4.3. Seat Lay out : All seats should be forward facing except in the case of
seats facing the passenger step well, which should not face the door.
Alternatively a partition which prevents the child from falling into the
step well shall be provided.

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 AIS-063

3.5 Stopping Signals :

Whenever the passenger door opens, the following 2 signals shall

operate.

3.5.1 The stop signal arm should project out of the co-driver side with a
minimum projection of 150 mm with the ‘ STOP ‘ sign of minimum
letter height of 40 mm to be installed.

3.5.2 The hazard warning shall operate automatically.

3.6 Speed Governor :

A tamper proof speed governor complying with the requirements of

Rule 118 of CMV(A)R 1989, which prevents driver from speeding
beyond the speed limits set by the local and State Transport
Authorities, shall be provided.

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 AIS-063

350

350

15

15
All dimensions are in mm

Figure 1 – School Bus Insignia

( See Para 3.1.2 )

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 AIS-063

Figure 2 – Critical Safety Zone

( See Para 3.4.1.1 )

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 AIS-063

Annexure : I
(See Introduction)
COMMITTEE COMPOSITION
Automotive Industry Standards Committee

Chairman
Shri B. Bhanot Director
The Automotive Research Association of India, Pune

Members Representing
Shri Alok Rawat Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways,
( Department of Road Transport & Highways )
New Delhi

Shri Sushil Kumar Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy

Industries & Public Enterprises, New Delhi

Shri. Chandan Saha Office of the Development Commissioner

Small Scale Industries,
Ministry of Small Scale Industries, New Delhi

Shri. L . R. Singh Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi

Shri A. S. Lakra Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune

Shri D. P. Saste
(Alternate)
Director Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehra 'Dun

Shri R.C. Sethi Vehicles Research & Development Establishment,

Shri N. Karuppaiah Ahmednagar
(Alternate)

Shri Rajat Nandi Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

Shri T.C. Gopalan Tractor Manufacturers Association, New Delhi

Shri Ramakant Garg
(Alternate)

Shri K.N.D. Automotive Components Manufacturers Association

Nambudiripad

Shri G. P. Banerji Automotive Components Manufacturers Association

Member Secretary
Mrs. Rashmi Urdhwareshe
Sr. Assistant Director
The Automotive Research Association of India, Pune

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