Mumbai: The School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) president Anil Garg on Monday announced a school bus fee hike of 15% from the academic year beginning June, citing a sharp rise in diesel prices and mounting operating costs ahead of school reopening in June. He said that the latest fuel spike has pushed operators into a corner, with diesel rates rising by Rs 8 in the past 11 days and indications of further increases.“We are compelled to revise transportation fees because fuel is the single biggest variable cost and it is moving up rapidly. Fuel comprises 65% of operational costs,” he said.A few other bus operators told TOI that the pressure is not limited to fuel alone. They pointed to higher maintenance and spare-part costs, rising insurance premiums, permit and fitness expenses, staff salaries, and tighter compliance requirements that add to recurring expenditure. Several small and mid-sized fleet owners said they are struggling to maintain safety standards and service continuity while keeping charges stable.Garg said that bus owners are wary of repeated incremental revisions if diesel prices keep climbing. “We are against incremental hikes, which may keep rising as diesel rates increase. If the govt wants rates higher, it should announce one big hike so we can plan how to manage operational costs,” the operator said.He further said that the state has around 40,000 school buses consuming nearly 1.2 lakh litres of diesel daily when operations run at full scale, and so the fuel cost burden is huge.In the past decade, the school bus fee has been hiked for various other reasons as well — procurement costs of buses, huge maintenance costs due to bad road conditions, pay hikes of staffers, compulsory implementation of GPS systems, CCTV cameras, supplementary safety apparatus for child safety in buses, and also for an increase in parking tariffs.In a media statement on Tuesday, the association suggested that schools consider an “alternate day school functioning model”, with three days of physical classes and two days of online classes each week. Fewer physical school days would mean fewer bus runs, lowering fuel use and reducing wear and tear, he said. Another proposal was reducing the number of trips to and from schools, with reference to multiple trips at present for morning and afternoon school batches at present. Many schools, however, find these suggestions impractical.“These are merely our suggestions in case the schools want us to reduce the bus fee. But given the current situation, and the diesel price hikes, we are left with no option but to hike fees. Most schools will reopen from June and the hikes may come into effect from next month,” Garg added.
