Mumbai: With no solution, school bus industry stares at abyss

Buses lined up outside JB Petit High School for Girls in Fort, last year. Pic/Ashish Raje

Even as educational institutions are headed for full reopening, there is no chance of school buses beginning operations anytime soon, as the meeting with over 300 managements on Monday yielded no positive result. The School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) now plans to send an SOS to the vehicle manufacturers, hoping for good deals, as buses have become a liability.

The meeting with the school heads and the management was held to discuss resumption of services. However, the meeting raised several more questions instead of giving solutions, making it clear that the chances of the industry's survival is bleak, according to the SBOA. "The government is not helping; schools cannot do much and parents are not willing to send their children on school buses. What options are we left with after waiting for almost two years?" asked SBOA President Anil Garg.

Buses parked at Thane's Sulochanadevi Singhania School on October 4. Pic/Sameer Markande

Considering the situation of the buses, a lot of investment is needed for their safe functioning, he said. "After that, if it has to be run with only 50 percent capacity, the fee structure is obviously going to increase. But, parents are not willing to pay that. Schools cannot interfere in this and the government has done nothing to resolve the issue, apart from forming committees."

One high-profile school in the city held a survey to understand how many parents are okay with school buses. "Only 30 out of over 100 showed interest, but that too may diminish with the increased fee structure," said Garg. The association has now issued a new list of demands, and if they aren't met, it will have to turn to manufacturers, hoping for deals to get rid of the liabilities (buses).

SBOA's new demands

>> Waive school bus taxes until 2022
>> Extend life of school buses for losses during past 2 years
>> No memo to be issued to school buses for validity fitness
>> No penalties by RTOs for late payment of professional tax
>> A 30 per cent hike in school bus fee
>> Complete waiver on challans issued during lockdown for traffic violations
>> Schools can't fix bus fee rates on their own

March
Month, in 2020, since when school buses are not functioning