By Elysa Chew

SHE used to pay only $90 a month for her son to take the school bus one way.

That will go up to $130 when the school reopens next year.

The average fare increase at the school is about 20 per cent, and Madam Y H Lui is unhappy that she has to pay even more.

The bus operator is raising the two-way fare, which was $110, by less than 20 per cent to $130, but at the same time, is taking away the one-way option.

So Madam Lui, 30, an administrative manager, will be paying almost 45 per cent more, though her son will still be taking the bus only one way.

The reason for the increase: Minibuses like the one her son rides in have to be fitted with seat-belts, leading to a drop in the capacity of each bus.

This means a drop in the earnings of the bus operators. And they have to raise fares to make it viable for them to continue running these minibuses.

The Land Transport Authority rolled out a plan to have school buses installed with front-facing seats and three-point seat belts after a tragic accident in April last year.

A schoolboy, Russell Koh, 8, died after being flung onto the road when his school minibus was involved in an accident with two cars.

According to earlier news reports, operators get a $4,000 subsidy to cover the retrofitting costs.

Speaking out

When parents were issued letters informing them of the increase in bus fares, Madam Lui felt she had to speak out against it.

She said: "I don't mind having to pay more for my child's safety, but this increase is not justified.

"I understand that if you want to run a business, you need to make profits. But this kind of increase is a bit too much."

Madam Lui calculated that five children could share a taxi to school and back for less.

At $130 a month, each trip for five kids would work out to about $16, and for many of them, the taxi fare from home to school will be less than that.

That is, of course, if there are five of them who can go together without adult supervision.

"How can the school bus fare be comparable to that of a taxi" What's more, we also pay the bus operators during school holidays, even when our children are not taking the bus," Madam Lui said.

She feels the problem is made worse by the fact that bus operators are allowed to monopolise the market in the particular schools they serve.

She said: "Only one vendor is allowed to provide the bus service at each school. There is no price competition at all."

To solve the problem, Madam Lui proposes that schools allow more than one bus operator to offer services to students.

The buses would also be better utilised, she said, if different operators serving schools in the same area could pool their resources.

"Some buses may not have enough seats, while others may have empty seats. Why can't they allow more than one bus operator to come into the school to solve this problem?"

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