Mumbai, March 9: The School Bus Owners' Association in the city on Sunday announced that it will likely increase bus fees from new academic year by 12-15 percent. According to a Times of India report, the decision that led to an increase in the fare is to the switchover of several diesel buses from BS-IV to BS-VI emission standards from April 1, after the old buses are phased out and new buses will be brought in their place.
Some of the other factors include the rise in salaries of the staff, the rise in fuel cost and maintenance cost of vehicles. Diesel buses which are more than eight years old are not allowed to run on the street, therefore their life span is very short. The parents association in Mumbai said that parents are willing to pay the hiked fees as long as it is justified. However, they said that no fee hike should be allowed without the consent of the parent-teachers association. BEST to Scrap 1,063 Buses From Its Fleet in Mumbai Over The Next 16 Months.
Last year, as well the state unit of the School Bus Owners Association (SBOA), which plies over 40,000 school buses across 21,000 schools in Maharashtra, called for a 10 percent to 15percent hike in bus fees. Last year as well, the association justified the hike citing factors like inflation, rise in fuel prices, traffic jams owing to Metro work, and potholed roads leading to high vehicle maintenance costs.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 09, 2020 02:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).