Passenger transport entities urge Maha govt to provide relief package for school bus operators

Private passenger transport operators' bodies BOCI and SBOA on Tuesday urged the Maharashtra government to provide relief package, including waivers in taxes, extension on moratorium on interest and deferment of motor insurance to the coronavirus pandemic-impacted school bus operators.

Claiming that over 50,000 school buses and around 1.5 lakh bus staffers are currently in financial distress, the Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) and the School Bus Owner Association (SBOA) in a joint release also warned that if these measures are not provided immediately most of the operators might go out of the business.

"With the entire school curriculums moving online, bus owners are burdened with taxes, insurance, maintenance, EMIs and parking charges, among others, due to which they are forced to lay off their staff, as they are not being paid by schools or parents," said the release.

It added that the sector has made several representations to the authorities in the transport department, the state's ministries and to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to draw their attention to multitudes of issues faced by the sector and have urged urgent action to alleviate their pain.

Thousands of women employees who accompany school buses to take care of school children have also been rendered jobless by the lockdown and are struggling with the most difficult phase of their lives, it said.

The association has requested the government on bus staffers' salaries for the entire lockdown period, waiver of taxes, deferment of motor insurance, extensions of moratorium and waiver of interest, among others, as part of the relief package, the release stated.