BBC Chinese reported that on the morning of November 16, 2011, a daycare school bus in Zheng Ning County of Gangsu Province collided with a cargo truck killing 20 children on the bus. The school bus, which had been converted from a 9 passenger vehicle, had 64 students on board at the time of the accident. The report stated that the daycare center had a total of 737 children, but only 4 school buses to use for pickup and drop off.
People were outraged by the tragedy and questioned, “Why do we have so many buses for public transportation but can’t afford a reliable school bus for our children? Our government should take financial responsibility for this.” The accident took place just before the Shenzhou Spacecraft No. 8 returned back to earth. Some people asked, “Why can we guarantee that Shenzhou Spacecraft No. 8 will lift off safely, but we cannot guarantee our children’s safety when they go to school?”.
Source: BBC Chinese, November 17, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2011/11/111117_china_school_bus.shtml