Schoolbus, van drivers in limbo since schools shut down

Mumbai: Before March 2020, Arun Rao's (42) day used to start at 6 am picking up school children in his minibus and dropping them at school. However, in the last three months, his fate has taken a U-turn and Rao's day now goes around working as a vendor at a vegetable shop.

Ever since the lockdown was imposed to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, schools had pulled down their shutters. School bus owners and drivers found themselves out of business and eventually their earnings stopped.

Rao has been a driver for a city-based private school bus for the last six years. Amid the lockdown, school authorities stopped his payment since May and in the last two months, he was forced to sell vegetables with his brother-in-law.

"I have worked as a driver with the school for the last six years. After the lockdown was imposed, the authorities told us that we are on unpaid leave and stopped the payment of the drivers, there are total eight drivers under their payroll and none of them is getting paid," Rao told FPJ.

"I sat without income for more than a month, I had to pay my rent and all other necessities, now I am forced to work as a vegetable seller in my brother-in-law's business just to make my ends meet," added a disgruntled Rao.

Though many private schools have started their curriculum, conducting classes over video conferencing, school bus drivers and owners very well understand there's an uncertainty ahead.

"Schools have already started their curriculum through video conference classes. School authorities have informed us that unless things become completely safe for children schools won't function again," stated Deepak Kumar (32), a driver.

"Many private schools have relaxed the transportation fees and offered it as a waiver to the parents. A major part of our earnings used to come from that money, this is a sign that probably things are not getting okay now," stated Samir Jadhav a driver and helper.

For the owners, paying parking rent for keeping the buses at their own expense is adding up to their financial woes. There are many vehicle owners who provide private vehicles for picking up children from schools.

"We don't have any income for the past few months, above these, we need to pay a huge amount of parking fees every month. This is just increasing the financial burden on us," said Amit Rajput, a transport businessman.

"Most of these are medium and heavy vehicles and are only registered to be used for commercial purposes only," added Rajput.

"The school bus owners are out of business and the government should have released some financial packages for us especially when they know very well that schools are closed. There are hundreds of drivers who are sitting at home without income and are now forced to do some odd jobs to make their ends meet," stated Anil Garg, president School Bus Owners Association (SBOA).

source https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/schoolbus-van-drivers-in-limbo-since-schools-shut-down