School bus operators seek help from Association, Chandigarh

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 9

With a surge in Covid-19 cases forcing the schools to remain shut, the Chandigarh School Bus Operators’ Welfare Association (Tricity) today sought help from the UT Administration and the Independent Schools’ Association (ISA).

The association with a fleet of nearly 1,200 buses and over 3,000 members is struggling to meet ends amid as school continue to run in online mode.

Head of the association Manjeet Singh claimed that parents had paid fee for the current session, but did not pay a single penny towards transportation charges in the past one year.

“We have been writing to the ISA and now have started requesting schools individually. We are seeking their help in getting some loan. We have been surviving on our savings, but now things are getting worse,” said Manjeet Singh.

“With no clear instructions on starting offline classes, we are not sure when we will get back to business,” he said.

Manjeet said despite facing major losses, the operators were now getting notices from banks.

“We took hefty loans to purchase these buses and upgrade them time to time as per the instructions of schools and the UT Administration. As we are not earning a single penny, how would we pay off our loans?” asked Manjeet.

“As Covid crisis deepens, we don’t see schools starting offline classes any time soon. This is really scary,” he said.

The association claimed to have faced losses worth Rs 6.5 crore since April 2020.

“We had expected school buses to ply on city roads in April this year. However, all our plans have gone haywire,” said the president.

“The government has waived off our taxes till June 2021, but under current circumstances, we seek an extension,” he added.

“Since March 25, 2020, school buses have remained off roads. But our liabilities, including installments, insurance and staff salaries, continue to burden us,” he informed.

The association demanded that schools should come forward to help them.

Parents or schools should pay at least 50 per cent of the transportation fee for the past months, the association demanded. 

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