School bus operators across Maharashtra have raised concerns over recently announced regulations by Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, particularly questioning the proposed cap and structure of school transport fees and the financial burden linked to compliance requirements.

Existing Safety Rules ‘Repackaged’, Say Operators

Representatives of the school transport sector and affiliated educational institutions argue that several measures highlighted in the latest announcement are not new. According to operators, requirements such as installation of GPS-based tracking systems, vehicle location tracking devices, fire detection and crew background verification have already been mandatory since 2019.