Bus services to be launched for remote schools in Samarkand and Jizzakh regions

The operation of these buses will be organized on an outsourcing basis. The necessary funding will be allocated from the local budget within the framework of the funds designated for the education sector.

The Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been assigned responsibility for organizing this initiative.

This practical measure was included in the action plan for 2023 within the framework of the "Uzbekistan — 2030" strategy.

In the summer of 2023, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as a presidential candidate, mentioned during a meeting with voters in Nukus that the introduction of school buses for transporting children from remote villages of Karakalpakstan would make the region the first to implement such a project.

In 2021, UNICEF and the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted a survey on road safety near schools. It was found that the majority of respondents (60% in Tashkent) considered the roads leading to schools unsafe, and a large number of students walk to school.

Due to the lack of regular public transport and the absence of their own buses and minibuses, children in rural areas are often transported to schools and kindergartens in vehicles like Damas and light cars. Some drivers have been known to cram more than 20 children into these vehicles.