School vans back on city roads

In a major relief to thousands of children and parents, school cab drivers unions decided to call off their two-day strike after a meeting with Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy. The unions on Friday agreed to paint all school cabs yellow and also agreed to stick to the seating limit for children. In return, the state government agreed to discuss issues like tax uniformity and maximum age of vehicles with them.

P S Shanmugam, president of Karnataka United School and Light Motor Vehicle Drivers Union said, “Our vehicles will be back on the roads on Saturday.”

He said, “We were told that the government will not be rigid on the rule that vehicles older than 15 years be deemed unfit to carry children, as the courts have given us some concessions. We are waiting for the specifics on this rule and it will be discussed again next week.”

The issue of tax uniformity between privately owned vehicles and school-owned vehicles will be discussed with the Finance department and Chief Minister.

Reddy told Express: “Although the court quashed the case against the time frame for the fitness certificate, the unions said that they were offered some relaxation. We have asked them to bring the court copy and then we will look into the matter.”

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The New Indian Express
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