KOLKATA: Associations of school buses and pool cars have decided to offer waiver on the monthly fees to give some breather to the parents amid the lockdown. Several parents have held back payments for privately operated school buses and pool cars for March and April stating that there are uncertainties about the date of reopening of schools and that they cannot go on paying for months on end without availing of services.
The associations held several video-meets since mid-April and they have finally decided that pool cars and buses will extend waiver of 25% and 30% of the monthly fee, respectively. Some schools that operate their own buses have even offered breather up to 50%.
Messages have been sent to parents, requesting them to release payments of March and April once the lockdown is over or if possible by electronic transfer for March at least.
“Parents from whom we collect fees directly, have been told about the 30% waiver. Many of our buses are attached to schools where the latter pay us directly and adjust the amount from parents. We have passed on the benefit to these schools already and they have started informing parents,” said Anurag Agarwal, the largest operator with a fleet of more than 1,500 buses attached major schools like all the DPS schools, Heritage School etc.
Some schools like Modern High School, Ashoke Hall, who still run their own fleet of buses, plan higher percentage of discount.
“Parents are citing non-utilisation of services, but when schools will start Saturday classes or cut short vacations, we will accommodate that without any extra charge,” said Himadri Ganguly, general secretary of West Bengal Contract Carriage Owners and Operators Association. Pool car operators said they could only give a breather of 25% now as their cost share per child was higher than that of buses. “We can only pass on the fuel benefit,” said Arupam Dutta, vice president, West Bengal Pool Car Owners’ Welfare Association.
The associations held several video-meets since mid-April and they have finally decided that pool cars and buses will extend waiver of 25% and 30% of the monthly fee, respectively. Some schools that operate their own buses have even offered breather up to 50%.
Messages have been sent to parents, requesting them to release payments of March and April once the lockdown is over or if possible by electronic transfer for March at least.
“Parents from whom we collect fees directly, have been told about the 30% waiver. Many of our buses are attached to schools where the latter pay us directly and adjust the amount from parents. We have passed on the benefit to these schools already and they have started informing parents,” said Anurag Agarwal, the largest operator with a fleet of more than 1,500 buses attached major schools like all the DPS schools, Heritage School etc.
Some schools like Modern High School, Ashoke Hall, who still run their own fleet of buses, plan higher percentage of discount.
“Parents are citing non-utilisation of services, but when schools will start Saturday classes or cut short vacations, we will accommodate that without any extra charge,” said Himadri Ganguly, general secretary of West Bengal Contract Carriage Owners and Operators Association. Pool car operators said they could only give a breather of 25% now as their cost share per child was higher than that of buses. “We can only pass on the fuel benefit,” said Arupam Dutta, vice president, West Bengal Pool Car Owners’ Welfare Association.
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