Even as schools resumed normal schedule, thousands of students across Kerala find it difficult to commute as bus services have gone haywire with the two-year-long COVID-19 crisis. Several private buses have gone off the roads as owners find it difficult to run them owing to poor patronage. The high fuel prices and current fare structure mean operating a public transport bus is a financially risky and unviable proposition. The number of school buses available now is lower than the pre-Covid times. As the services of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are limited to certain routes, public, including students, who totally depend on private buses are a harried lot.
Nearly half a million students are enrolled in schools across Kerala. A vast majority of them are dependent on public transport, mostly buses. Many parents had engaged parallel transport services such as autorickshaws and minivans for their wards. The number of such services which used to bring students to school and back home too has gone down. Owing to financial crisis in the wake of COVID-19 shutdowns, many owners sold such vehicles.
Many vehicle owners say that if they run the vehicles for school services, they would not even be able to get the running cost. Those parents who used to send their children on autorickshaws and minivansare in a predicament as these services are hard to avail. It is extremely difficult for the working parents to escort their children to school and bring them back in the evening daily.
Worsening the problem, several buses that were leased to schools by private parties too are no longer in service.
Before venturing out of her house at Veluthassery in the morning for her school, which is 6 km away, the only one prayer in Biya S Biju's mind is that the bus should arrive on time. Veluthasseri is on the Thikkoyi–Wagamon route on the eastern fringes of Kottayam district. There are only two buses during school hours: one in the morning and the other in the evening. The buses originating from Vagamon are full by the time they reach Valakkulam with passengers hanging even on the footboards. As a result, those going to Mavadi and Velluthassery do not get space to board the bus. Often these buses do not halt at stops in between.
Situation is no different even in the evening. Even if the school closes at 4 pm, the buses reach only at 4.45 pm. The bus packed with passengers arrives from Erattupetta. On reaching Thikkoyi, children who have to travel to distant places are allowed to board the bus first. With this, those going to Velluthassery and Mavadi areas fail to board the bus. Though a private bus reaches at 5 pm, this too is jam-packed. If the students fail to board this bus then autorickshaw or private vehicles are the only refuge.
This is not a problem limited to just one or two students. Most students are facing a similar situation on many other routes. The reduction in the number of buses has also aggravated the problems of the students.
Violence as students are denied entry
Thalayolaparambu: Students and crew of private buses clashed with each other here in Kottayam district the other day as the former were not allowed entry into buses. Four persons including the driver and three students sustained injuries in the incident which took place at 5 pm at Nirapara locality on Tuesday. The violence took place between the workers of Ave Maria private bus and students of DB College, Thalayolaparambu.
Bus employee Renju who sustained injuries on the head was admitted to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. SFI area secretary Amal Raj, unit president Shihab and Kiran were admitted to Vaikom taluk hospital.
The bus which was stopped briefly at the college stop left abruptly even while the students were boarding. It is also alleged the students demanded travel concessions, but the bus staff refused. Moreover, students who were to go to Ernakulam were made to alight the bus at Vadakara.
The SFI activists followed the bus and intercepted it near Nirapara. They questioned the bus staff regarding the complaints and soon a clash ensued.
The bus crew, however, said that only those who were travelling on the footboard were asked to get down. But the students followed them and attacked them without any reason.
"Private bus operators are reluctant to allow students. Instead of halting the buses at the regular stops, the passengers are made to alight the vehicles at unscheduled stops. When the students run towards the bus, the staff takes off abruptly. Normally we used to reach home by 4.30 pm after the closure of school. But now we reach only by 5 pm," Athisree Sathy, a Class-9 student of Sreemangalam Higher Secondary School at Kumarakom in the western part of the district said.
"A majority of the students go to buses in schools. Some of the private buses passing through our locality (Kanakkari Ashupathripadi, near Kottayam town) are not allowing the students to board now. The crew cite lower concession rates as a reason. My daughter reached home only at 5.30 pm yesterday. Children are barred from boarding some buses," revealed M S Anil Kumar, a student's parent.
A similar situation prevails even if students reach the bus stop in the morning. Often parents have to take the students in autorickshaw or private vehicles, he added.
Interestingly, several places across Kerala has been witness to the same scenes for decades.
KSRTC services don't help
The government buses benefit only a limited number of students on a limited number of routes. The KSRTC's decision to stop services on routes which do not have private buses has landed many students in difficulty.
Barring rural services, 80 percent of the services of KSRTC are of the Fast Passenger (FP) category. Most of the Ordinary services are Limited-Stop type buses. Students do not get concession on Limited Stop, Fast and Superfast category buses. On Kottayam, Changanassery, Vaikom, Pala, Erattupetta and Thodupuzha routes thousands of students cannot avail the travel concession as there are not enough Ordinary category KSRTC buses.
For instance, the students of Government Higher Secondary School at Panmattom in Kanjirappally Taluk now have no direct buses. The KSRTC bus which used to operate during school hours has now been stopped. The bus which used to start at 8 am and at 4.30 pm from Ponkunnam to Kanjirapally, via Panamattom, and back to Ponkunnam is not available now. As a result, the students have to get down at Kurayil and walk a distance of 2 km to reach their school.
The only bus which goes via Panmattom leaves in the morning and returns in the evening is a private bus. But this bus does not operate during school hours. The students have to pay the full fare to travel in KSRTC buses.
How to lodge complaints
If students do not get concession in fare in buses, they can lodge complaints with the Regional Transport Office (RTO). Since uniform is not mandatory at the moment, the school students can travel with concession on showing their identity cards.
RTO P R Sajeev said that the complaints regarding concession could be conveyed on the number: 85476 39005.