Mumbai school bus operators to hike charges by 20% for ferrying students

Mumbai's school bus operators have announced that they will increase fares by at least 20% this academic year for transporting children. Ramesh Maniyan, president of the School Bus Owners Association (SBOA), said that bus charges will increase by 20% or more, but that the amount varies by area and school. As the city's schools reopened this morning, this announcement was made on June 13, 2022.

He said they have been forced to increase school bus charges due to various reasons, like the fuel price hike, payment of salaries of drivers and other staff, increased bus cost, RTO fees, traffic fines and penalties paid in the last two years, when their operations were closed.

Though the business was closed for two years due to the pandemic, the salaries of drivers and other staff, like cleaners and female attendants, went up, he pointed out.

Maniyan, who is also an office-bearer of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana, said the life of a school bus in Mumbai is about eight years, compared to 15 years in other parts of the country.

Hence, they had requested the government to allow them to operate the old buses for another two years as the vehicles were not running during the pandemic, but it was turned down.

If the government had accepted the demand, the burden (of bus charges) would not have been passed on to the parents of students, he said.

Meanwhile, the parents of some students said schools have not yet conveyed to them about the increase in bus charges, but some operators have hinted at a hike, which would affect them at a time when they are already reeling under the burden of inflation.

"My daughter’s school is located in Byculla area. A school van operator earlier used to charge Rs 900 per month for the journey from Kalachowki area (about three km away). Though the school has not yet conveyed anything about the bus charges increase, the old operator has told some parents that they are going to charge Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500, which is quite high for such a short distance,” a parent said on condition of anonymity.

The parent further said they are now exploring other options like hiring a cab to ferry a group of students from their locality, as it will be a comparatively cheaper for them.