Mumbai school buses won’t start till demands are met

Amid excitement among children and schools over the resumption of inperson 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 metThey 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 governmentSchool buses parked outside JB Petit school at Fort File picLet 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 riderdquo said Anil Garg president of School Bus Ownersrsquo Association SBOA MaharashtraldquoThe 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 3050 days to get the vehicles ready for appointment of drivers and other crew membersrdquo Garg saidldquoThe association and committee members have also approached the Bombay High Court seeking compensation for the period lost due to the imposition of lockdownrdquo he saidThe city had nearly 50000 buses that employed about 15 lakh staffers After the COVIDinduced lockdown was imposed in March 2020 schools remained shut and buses went off the road SBOA has pegged the statewide losses at Rs 3000 crore due to the lockdown50000No of school buses in cityThis is what we want Extension of school busesrsquo lives by a minimum of two years Compensation against loss of business during this timeRoad tax waiver verbally granted but not yet implementedProfessional tax issue not yet sorted outExtension 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 documentsTraffic fines implemented from December 14 are exorbitant and not at all acceptableRevoke all echallans issued against school buses during the lockdownGovernment 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 staffAllow 100 per cent seating capacity following all CAB protocols