Mumbai school bus stir: Bus owners say impossible to resume duty from Dec 15

As per reports, 1.5 lakh bus staffers are under financial distress

Even as schools get ready to reopen from December 15, the chances of school buses resuming service look slim. According to the bus contractors, red tapism over renewal of licences is proving to be a major hurdle. Many of them have even decided to not run buses as they are anticipating further losses upon resuming their services. The School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) has written a letter to Nitin Gadkari, central minister for road and transport, seeking relief.

The reopening of schools was deferred by 14 days to December 15 in Mumbai and many other urban areas in Maharashtra due to the threat of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Anil Garg

"If we decide to run the school buses from December 15, we will need clearances from the RTO. However, given that the extension in all permits issued by the state government is already past its date, we will need apply for renewals [from the RTO]. But the RTO is now asking us to pay taxes, which according to the state government assurance were to be relaxed for School Bus Owners Association (SBOA). Turns out, the state government has not conveyed this decision to the RTO for implementation. It turned out to be a verbal tax waiver," said Anil Garg, President of SBOA. Even if they resume services, the school bus contracts say business won't be as usual due to safety regulations. "Beside the limited number of students allowed on the bus, we will require additional staff inside [the bus] to ensure children follow the protocol. Our expenditure will only increase," said Garg.