Adding to the woes of hundreds of school students and their parents in the city, the School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) has proposed to hike bus fees by Rs 300 per student. The move comes at a significant time as school exams are slated to begin later this month. In fact, the organisation has threatened to take buses off the roads from the end of this month in protest.

According to the SBOA officials, the proposed hike is a result of the increase in expenditure caused by the mandatory additions to the School Bus Policy by the state government. "When the state talks about road safety, school buses and students are seldom mentioned. But whenever it comes to addition of new ru­les, we are the only body to suffer," said Anil Garg, SBOA president, this morning.