No More Lump Sum Fees? Maharashtra Proposes Landmark Monthly Cap and Per-KM Rates for School Buses
3 min readMumbaiUpdated: Apr 11, 2026 07:01 PM IST
School bus fares in Maharashtra could soon be brought under a formal regulatory framework, with the state transport department proposing that Regional Transport Authorities (RTAs) fix a base fare per kilometre per student. The move, aimed at curbing arbitrary fee collection by schools and private transport operators, is part of a broader set of revised school bus safety guidelines released in draft form.
The draft also seeks to bar schools from collecting lump sum or advance transport fees, making it mandatory to charge parents on a monthly basis. School Transport Committees will be tasked with verifying that fares align with RTA-approved rates. “These measures are expected to bring relief to families who have long complained about being asked to pay large upfront amounts for the entire term or the academic year,” said an official from the state’s transport department.
For years, parents have raised concerns over steep and uneven school bus charges, often paid upfront for 12 months despite services running for about 10 months. In the absence of a standardised fare chart, fees have typically varied between Rs 600 and Rs 800 per month per student, or higher depending on distance and facilities, prompting demands for a more transparent pricing mechanism.
The proposed School Transport Committees will also handle grievances, conduct periodic vehicle inspections and submit quarterly reports to district-level safety panels.
The fee regulation is part of a wider overhaul of safety norms following the 2024 Badlapur incident, where a minor girl was allegedly molested by a school bus driver, raising serious concerns over student safety during transit. The School Education Department has since directed institutions to submit detailed safety compliance reports.
The draft guidelines, placed in the public domain on Friday, invite objections and suggestions from stakeholders before final notification in the coming days.
Alongside fare reforms, the draft introduces additional safety measures. Existing requirements such as CCTV cameras, GPS tracking, panic buttons and fire safety systems will continue, while new provisions include compulsory seatbelts, periodic inspections with reports to authorities, and stricter record-keeping of transport staff, including police and RTO verification.
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Buses ferrying younger children must have trained attendants, including women attendants for primary and pre-primary students. Schools will also be required to maintain daily logs of boarding and deboarding, with live vehicle tracking linked to panic buttons.
The draft further mandates periodic training for drivers and staff, along with safety awareness programmes for parents and students. Once notified, operators will have three months to comply, failing which permits could be suspended or cancelled.
While parents have broadly welcomed the proposals, transport operators have raised objections. Questioning the need for fresh norms, Anil Garg from the School Bus Owners Association said, “The state already has a school-bus safety policy. In addition to it, time to time guidelines are issued by various authorities. What is the point of having a newer set of guidelines when existing rules are not implemented effectively.”
Garg also flagged the lack of enforcement against unregulated services. “There are over 30,000 school-vans and rickshaws plying school-children. But they are never brought under the ambit of safety regulations with a blanket declaration that they are all prohibited services. But parents are still using those,” he said, opposing the fee regulation and the proposed restriction to 10 months of billing.
