Mumbai: What happened to school buses, ask parents

School buses parked at Smt Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane

Schools have started but what about school buses, ask parents who want to use the service for their wards. For those staying far away from schools, trips to school to pick up or drop off children is an additional task which is difficult, especially for nuclear families where both parents are working professionals.

Even as the government announced guidelines for school bus operations on October 5, many contractors have been unable to operate as the number of children is too low.

School buses have been a safe mode of transport for a significant number of school-going children as many parents in Mumbai prefer popular schools over those nearby. But since school buses are not running, these parents have to drop their wards to schools as, according to many, public transport is not a safe option.

"Many are also opting for the online mode of schooling to avoid travelling. This is an issue for many parents, especially those where both are working professionals. School buses ensured a safe trip from home to school and back. Using public transport means going to the nearby bus stop and boarding a crowded bus. To avoid this, many parents have decided to let their wards continue classes online," said Anubha Shrivastava from India Wide Parents Association.

"With schools conducting sessions in batches to ensure social distancing; there are not enough number of students for school buses to run. Moreover, they cannot afford to run in lower capacity after they have already bled financially during the lockdown," said the principal of a school from Andheri.

Latika Thakur, Principal of Parle Tilak School, which is popular and sees children coming from various parts of the city, said, "Our school never offered school bus services. But some parents held joint efforts to get private school buses. Now even those are not functioning because student numbers are low. In addition, we also have children who live even farther away where they require local trains to travel. But considering the anxiety around using public transport, these parents have opted for online classes."

"More than 75 per cent of parents said yes to offline school initially. But many are still continuing with online mode, thanks to the absence of school buses," said Prasad Tulaskar, a parent from Dadar.

When contacted, Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners Association (SBOA), said, "Many parents are asking us about the status of school buses as they heavily depend on them for their children. When we speak to schools, they point to parents saying the number of students is too low. It is not possible to run for a few students on the old fee structure in view of the increase in fuel and other costs. All this is really stressful for all from our industry."