West Bengal: Fewer kids on board, school bus, pool car operators plan to merge routes for now – Times of India

While only a handful parents have so far contacted school buses, the response is better for pool cars. The operators, however, told TOI children’s safety would be their priority and only vehicles serviced recently would be used.

The West Bengal Contract Carriage Owners’ and Operators’ Association (School Bus Wing), which has 4,000-odd members, will have hardly 400 buses on the road on Thursday, said association general secretary Himadri Ganguly. He pointed out barely 10%-15% guardians of students of classes VIII to XII had contacted them. “For now, our aim is to ensure those guardians are not refused. With final exams just days away, many parents said they would themselves ferry the kids. But we are not losing hope as we believe classes till at least V will resume by April. We are not worried about the monthly fees,” he said. “The concern is to get buses fit enough to hit the roads. Every time schools reopen, we send buses for servicing only to see the campuses being shut again. As police are checking buses and fines are steeper, we are asking all members to ensure all documents are up to date.” The association, which controls the pool cars and buses in the city, Howrah and North 24 Parganas, demanded concessions on road taxes, permit taxes and fitness certificates.
Other operators, too, are finding it difficult to send their vehicles for servicing and fitness check as they don’t have any clarity on the number of students. “We may club routes to save on our expenses. Getting all the buses ready may not be feasible,” said an owner in Behala, whose buses now ferry hospital workers. Ganguly said a few buses are transporting workers from e-commerce firms and IT companies. “But these are only a few. Unless we get our regular school-goers, we won’t be able to maintain all our buses,” he said.

Their response has been better, but pool cars owners are still unwilling to run all vehicles. Arupam Dutta, vice-president of Poolcar Owners’ Welfare Association, said discussions are on to fix the fees. “We don’t think even 15% vehicles will be used. Unlike school buses, all our contracts are with guardians and we are trying to gauge their willingness. Classes VIII, IX and XI will require our services for another week and a half before their final exams. Classes X and XII are unlikely to contact us. We will merge routes,” said Dutta. “Though fewer in number, we will check feedback from Bengali-medium schools, where new sessions have started. But it will not be before April that we will get a clear picture.”

Police have urged operators to complete checkups before school reopening.