CHENNAI: Parents are feeling the pinch as the petrol, diesel and LPG price hike is driving up school transport costs.
Parents, who rely on autorickshaws and private school vans for transporting children to and from school, say they are now spending an additional Rs 300 to Rs 500 a month following the fuel price hike that came into effect about a month ago.
Many parents that TNIE spoke to said they have little choice but to accept the revised fares. “School fee keeps increasing every year. On top of that, our other expenses have also gone up. We are feeling the impact of inflation in every aspect of our lives. My children study in a school about 2 km from our house, and we rely on a private van. We now pay Rs 2,500 a month, compared to Rs 2,000 earlier,” said S Madhumitha, a parent from Koyambedu.
Another parent, M Hariharan from K K Nagar, said he spends Rs 3,500 a month on transportation for his child, whose school is about 4 km away.
“We anticipated this (fare increase) because we are aware of the increase in fuel prices,” he said. V Babu, an autorickshaw driver from Adambakkam, said he increased his fare from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 this year, but his profits remain low.
“Earlier, LPG and CNG vehicles offered much bigger savings compared to petrol. Now, with fuel prices rising, our margins have reduced. LPG is now around `96 per litre and petrol is about `106. Even after increasing fares, our earnings have fallen. Under the rules, we can carry only two or three children at a time. I make three trips carrying two children each and earn around `12,000 a month from school trips. For the rest of the day, I operate through cab aggregators, which is not very profitable either,” he said.
S Balasubramaniam, state president of the CITU Auto Workers Union, said school transportation charges have increased by `300 to `500 across the state due to the fuel price hike.
“At the lower end, fares that were around `800-850 have now gone up to about `1,100. The increase varies depending on the earlier rate being charged,” he said.
Meanwhile, private school associations said that a majority of parents within city limits arrange their own transport, as most schools do not operate sufficient numbers of buses or vans. Outside city limits and in other parts of the state, only a few large schools have revised transportation charges.
“In many schools, admissions have been lower this year. Several mid-range private schools are concerned about the decline in enrolment and are therefore hesitant to increase any fees, including transport charges. Our association is planning a meeting soon to discuss these issues,” said R Nandakumar of the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association.