Transit shortages keep kids at home

SCHOOLS SAID THEY CUT THEIR BUS FLEETS OWING TO A BUNCH OF REASONS

NEW DELHI: Two weeks after schools in the Capital resumed in-person classes for students, many parents continue to face difficulties sending their children to school, with bus services in several institutions yet to restart.

Arif Siddiqui’s children study in two different private schools in Delhi. He said that though both schools had resumed in-person classes, their bus services were likely to restart only in the next academic session.

“There is no clarity if the schools will resume the bus service this session. So far, they have only asked us for a response,” said Siddiqui. He added that while not all parents might want to opt for the facility towards the end of the session, the shortage of transport options was inconveniencing working parents.

Other parents said that while schools had resumed bus services, they had also asked parents to deposit ‘caution money’ in advance to avail the trips.

Administrators, meanwhile, said they would take some time to resume bus services owing to a dip in the number of available vehicles over the past two years. Schools said they cut their bus fleets owing to a bunch of reasons, including disrepair, maintenance costs, and road tax payments.

Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School in Rohini, said the school was working on planning new routes based on responses from parents. She said the school might have to press more buses into service, which will present a challenge since some of the bus licenses had expired over the past two years. “We are trying to resolve these concerns before restarting the service,” she said.

She said a comparatively smaller number of parents had opted for the bus service this time, when compared to the pre-Covid period. “Only 70% parents have opted for the bus service through consent forms. Since fewer parents want to avail the service, we are trying to reschedule the routes and align them with the number of buses available,” said Arora.

Laksh Vir Sehgal, principal of Bal Bharati Public School on Ganga Ram Hospital Marg, said the school was trying to ascertain the number of parents who want to opt for buses.

“Once we receive their responses, we will take a decision accordingly. Since the annual exams are starting soon, we don’t think parents will ask for transport immediately. We expect them to avail the service from the next session,” said Sehgal