Delhi schools push for more DTC buses to ease return to in-person classes

Last year, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) asked schools to look for alternative arrangements as it expressed its inability to press public buses into additional services due to a dwindling fleet.

As schools in Delhi are slated to reopen unconditionally for in-person classes for students in all grades from April, schools in the national Capital that were dependent on DTC bus services are a worried lot.

Schools have reopened for all sections in the Capital. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

Last year, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) asked schools to look for alternative arrangements as it expressed its inability to press public buses into additional services due to a dwindling fleet. Schools in the capital, however, say that all of them did not have parking space for private buses, and the school transportation system would collapse in the absence of DTC buses.

Lata Vaidyanathan, director, Gyan Bharti School, Saket, said DTC buses have helped schools manage transport services smoothly for years, and their absence would create challenges for a number of institutions across the capital. “Since the rules and regulations of DTC buses are governed by the transport department, there is a sense of security. The timings also work for us. Most importantly, many schools do not have parking facilities. If all schools engage the services of the private buses, parking will become a major challenge and create disturbance in areas where there is already a heavy concentration of schools,” said Vaidyanathan.

She said that the lack of transport facilities was acting as a deterrent for parents who wanted to send children to schools. Vaidyanathan added that engagement of private bus services might also lead to an increase in the transportation fee, inconveniencing parents. “We conducted a survey and found that working parents are unable to drop or pick children from the school. They require a transport service which we are unable to provide in the absence of DTC buses. With the discontinuation of online classes from April, it becomes crucial to ensure that services are started again,” she said.

Sudha Acharya, chairperson of the National Progressive School Conference (NPSC) that has over 120 Delhi schools as members, said schools that were dependent on DTC bus service were facing problems. “Schools want that DTC buses are provided to them again. Many schools were earlier dependent on a large fleet of DTC buses. They are not able to resume transport services to children in the absence of DTC buses,” said Acharya, adding that she would write to the transport department asking for resumption of services.

Bharat Arora, general secretary, Action Committee of Private Unaided Schools, a consortium of private schools, said around 90 private schools in the capital are dependent on DTC bus fleets for students’ transport. “We would request the government to ensure that DTC buses are pressed into service again since many schools do not have their own buses and other vehicles,” said Arora, who also wrote to the union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday seeking an extension of the registration of schools buses.

“We have sought an extension of the registration of buses and all other vehicles whose 15-year registration period got over during the pandemic. Schools are already struggling financially. Purchasing new vehicles will be an additional burden,” Arora said in the letter to the union minister.