Mumbai school buses won’t start till demands are met

File pic

Amid excitement among children and schools over the resumption of in-person classes, school bus operators in the city have refused to start services till their demands, including a hike in fees and waiver of taxes, are met.

They have accused the Maharashtra government of ignoring the demands of the ailing school bus industry. On Tuesday, the school bus association presented eight demands to the government.

School buses parked outside JB Petit school at Fort. File pic

Let schools start, but buses will not start till the government meets our demands. We, the school bus owners, feel cheated by the government and being taken on a ride," said Anil Garg, president of School Bus Owners' Association (SBOA), Maharashtra.

"The school bus trade has come to a standstill, with owners having zero income and their staff in a hopeless situation, even after several representations to the Governor, chief minister, transport minister and commissioner seeking relief and alternate source of income for bus owners. Our cries have remained unheard. Commencing school bus services along with school reopening is next to impossible as it will take minimum 30-50 days to get the vehicles ready for appointment of drivers and other crew members," Garg said.

"The association and committee members have also approached the Bombay High Court, seeking compensation for the period lost, due to the imposition of lockdown," he said.

The city had nearly 50,000 buses that employed about 1.5 lakh staffers. After the COVID-induced lockdown was imposed in March 2020, schools remained shut and buses went off the road. SBOA has pegged the statewide losses at Rs 3,000 crore due to the lockdown.

50,000
No. of school buses in city

This is what we want!

. Extension of school buses' lives by a minimum of two years. Compensation against loss of business during this time
.Road tax waiver verbally granted but not yet implemented
.Professional tax issue not yet sorted out
.Extension of validity of documents was done till October 2021 but not extended. It should be extended to January 2022. RTOs should temporarily spare school buses from action over documents
.Traffic fines implemented from December 14 are exorbitant and not at all acceptable
.Revoke all e-challans issued against school buses during the lockdown
.Government should instruct schools and parents to hike school bus fees, which needs to be considered due to fuel price hike, losses due to the pandemic and hike in wages of school bus staff
.Allow 100 per cent seating capacity following all C.A.B. protocols