BEIJING - China's Ministry of Education launched a pilot program Wednesday to improve the management of the country's school buses.

The pilot program was launched in some counties in east China's Zhejiang and Shandong provinces and north China's Liaoning, Heilongjiang and Shaanxi provinces.

"The six pilot regions have good experience in running school bus services," said the ministry in a news release on its official website.

Many local governments have adopted effective measures, such as introducing services from bus companies and granting subsidies to schools running bus services, it said.

The ministry stressed that the pilot regions should establish specific work committees and allocate more funds in purchasing and maintenance of school buses.

The safety of school buses has become a concern in China since several accidents occurred in recent years, due to illegal operation of school buses.

In July last year, a national standard for primary school buses came into effect, requiring all school buses to bear "unified signs."