The rickety ol' school bus with lumpy seats and the unmistakable smell of rusty iron handles may soon be memory. For school bus operators across Mumbai are registering a steady decline in the demand for bus services. Industry majors say an increasing number of parents now prefer sending their wards to school by private or public transport. This, despite the fact that most school authorities promote the use of school buses.
Over the last three years, school bus operators across Mumbai have registered a 30-35 per cent drop in business. While the school bus was always considered a more economical option to private transport, these buses are now being saved for a rainy day. "Parents usually engage our services only during the monsoon when it's easy for buses to manoeuver through flooded areas," said Anil Garg of Tour India Travels, which operates school buses for CNMS School, Vile Parle and Arya Vidya Mandir School in Juhu. "Once the monsoon is over, they discontinue the service," he said.
While there are several reasons contributing to this trend like the rising cost of operation, increase in private vehicles, student safety, tuition timings and peer pressure, experts believe a steady rise in the number of illegal operators also has a lot to do with it. "There are many private players like rickshaws and jeeps, providing illegal services in this sector. They don't pay taxes or meet safety precautions, but parents engage their services, as they pick up children from the door step," said R Anand, a school bus service provider.
The 50 per cent hike in passenger tax, rise in fuel prices and a ban on 15-year-old vehicles have pushed up the cost of operation, making it difficult for operators to maintain competitive prices. In some cases, school bus operators have opted for more profitable operations like tourist or company buses. "It's very difficult for us to make ends meet. So, most of us try and cut losses by providing bus services for private picnics and companies over the weekend, when schools are closed," said Garg.
A senior official from Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu, attributed this phenomenon to the rising number of private vehicles and hectic work schedules. "The change in the structure of our economy has a lot to do with it. Though we encourage the use of public transport to reduce private fuel consumption, a lot of parents like dropping their children to school as it's the only time they get to spend time with them. Furthermore, with the availability of easy finance even middle class families can afford a car now," he states. Bharti Shankar, headmistress, SIES School, Matunga, says, "With rising competition, children are quite busy with tuitions. So parents want to spend as much time as possible with them. It's also difficult for them to stick to school bus timings."
While most schools are registering a downward trend, some players believe it's all a matter of perception. "More often than not, if you can ensure the child's safety and maintain punctuality, parents are only too happy to send them by school bus," said NP Vasant, officer-in-charge, transport, Poddar Schools, who claims the demand for school buses has risen. Vasant conducts special training sessions for the bus staff and also provides lady attendants in all the 60 school buses, under his charge.
Dropping children to school allows us to spend more time with them: Parents
"I'm one of those paranoid mothers. I've heard some horror stories about school buses and would rather just take the time to drop my daughter to school."
Sangina Sharma, parent of six-year-old Shania
"Beyond the issue of security, if my daughter were to travel by school bus, she has to get up one hour earlier. I would rather let her sleep for that extra time and then drop her to school myself."
Yashesh Lavingia, father of 13-year-old Sahchi
"When my son was younger, I would prefer taking him by private transport. Now that he's older he should be more independent and learn to interact with others. So I send him by school bus now."
Tejal Chheda, mother of eight-year-old Tanay
"I rarely get to spend time with my son who is eight-years-old. So, I make it a point to drop him to school every morning. Besides, it's cruel to send an eight-year-old in an over-crowded bus."
Arif Patel, father of eight-year-old Mustaffa
"I would definitely prefer sending my daughter to school by bus as it inculcates discipline in a child. However, the bus doesn't come up to our house, so we don't have an option, but to send her by car."
Kaveri Bhaskar, mother of 12-year-old Sanjana
"Since my daughter has tuitions in the morning, it's very difficult to co-ordinate bus timings. So, we usually form a car pool and take turns to ferry the kids from tuitions to school each morning."
Sheila Menon, mother of 15-year-old Krishna
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