Driver Associations Warn Government of Protest If Ignored
School van drivers ferrying students to and from schools have expressed strong displeasure over the government’s 2011 school transport policy, citing arbitrary regulations that are creating severe financial and mental stress.
They have warned that if these irregularities are not resolved promptly, they will be forced to launch a protest.
This warning came during a meeting of the school van drivers’ association held in Nagpur today.
The association stated that as per the Motor Vehicle Department, private school vans are being subjected to the same permit restrictions as those applied to vehicles owned by educational institutions. While the age limit for vehicles owned by schools is 20 years, the same has been restricted to just 15 years for private school vans.
The drivers are demanding that the age limit for private school vans should also be increased to 20 years.
They highlighted that a school van typically carries 30–35 children, while a 7-seater van can accommodate only 8–10 km under the prescribed norms. Such restrictions, coupled with mandatory insurance and tax requirements, have made operations unviable.
Currently, schools charge parents around ₹4,200 per student for transportation, whereas private van operators receive ₹7,000 per van per month.
However, due to these policies, private operators are facing mounting financial pressure.
The association also criticized the rules for targeting only private van operators while completely ignoring the accountability of school managements, teachers, and transportation committees for student safety.
Despite Supreme Court guidelines on mandatory School Transport Committees, no such committees have been formed in many institutions.
As a result, the burden falls entirely on van drivers, while schools escape responsibility.
Association representatives further pointed out that traffic police and RTO officials mostly conduct surprise inspections only against private van drivers.
Despite frequent harassment, there is no focus on unlicensed or unsafe vehicles. They demanded that the government should issue lifetime permits for vans after thorough inspection and allow vehicles up to 50 years old to operate if roadworthy, while ensuring compliance with safety norms.
The drivers have already submitted appeals to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the Chief Minister, the Transport Minister, and other relevant authorities, but no action has been taken so far.
If their demands are not met soon, they will launch a citywide protest in Nagpur on August 23, with thousands of van drivers participating.
The press conference was addressed by association leaders including Kr. Tomar, Nitin Pathak, Akbar Khan, Uday Anjankar, Prakash Devtale, Lalit Mishra, Sanjay Yadav, and Suresh Sharma, representing the majority of school van operators in the city.
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