School transport charges rise in Hyderabad amid fuel price hike

Parents in Hyderabad are facing higher school transport costs as auto drivers and private vehicle operators have increased charges ahead of the new academic year. Transport providers cite rising LPG and fuel prices, while parents struggle to manage the additional financial burden.

Hyderabad: The West Asia crisis has severely affected transportation charges for students as they get ready to return to school and begin a new academic year. Private transport operators, including auto drivers, have increased monthly charges due to the rise in auto LPG fuel prices and petrol rates.

Several parents in the city and suburbs depend on private auto rickshaws and cars to send their children to schools and colleges. A few are able to afford car services.

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The painful news this academic year is that auto drivers have increased charges by Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,200 per child in view of the sharp rise in LPG fuel prices.

“In February, the price of LPG fuel was around Rs. 58 per litre. Soon after the crisis in West Asia, due to a shortage of LPG fuel, the price shot up to Rs. 125 per litre. The current price is Rs. 93 per litre. So we are forced to raise the charges,” said Mohd Ghouse, an auto rickshaw driver.

The auto drivers argue that increasing the charges is inevitable due to the additional burden imposed on them by the rise in LPG fuel prices. “In March and April, we stood in long queues outside fuel stations and paid Rs. 125 per litre. Due to this, we suffered huge losses, so it is necessary for us to increase the charges now,” said K Vamshi, an auto driver from Dilsukhnagar.

The auto drivers ferry anywhere between four and seven children in their vehicles to schools and colleges across the city. Parents whose children’s schools do not offer bus services depend on auto rickshaws and cars to transport students to school and bring them back home.

“Last academic year, I paid Rs. 6,000 for my two children who study at a school in Malakpet. Now the auto driver is demanding Rs. 8,500, or asking me to make some other arrangement. I negotiated and settled it at Rs. 7,500,” said Syeda Atiya, a housewife from Falaknuma.

Samuel Raj, who works at a private company and resides in Secunderabad, said private car services that transport children to schools have also increased their charges. “I paid Rs. 3,500 to the driver last year. Now, citing the increase in diesel prices, they are demanding Rs. 4,500. I learnt that all the drivers had a meeting and decided to revise the charges from the new academic year,” he said.