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“We met transport minister Subhas Chakraborty and principal secretary of the department today. We are withdrawing the strike as we have been assured that a permit to carry schoolchildren will be issued to us shortly,” Abir Roy, secretary of the Pool Car Owners Welfare Association, told The Indian Express. The association claims to have around 570 members in the city, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah, who run around 3,000 vehicles for ferrying schoolchildren. The association had gone on a strike on December 20.
Meanwhile, the other group - Car Pool Operators Association of West Bengal - has decided to resume services as well. The association claims to have around 6,500 vehicles within its purview across the state. The group, however, expressed reservations on paying taxes for pool car services, as asked by the state government.
“Last July, the transport department issued a circular stating that private vehicles being used as pool cars should convert to commercial permits. This means huge taxes and other difficulties. Around 90 per cent of the existing cars have been financed by banks. For conversion, a no-objection certificate from the bank is required. But the banks find it difficult to issue such a certificate. Furthermore, this will mean that we have to pay commercial taxes, permit fees and commercial insurance,” said Shantanu Saha, secretary of the association.
The transport minister had earlier warned that in case pool car strikes continue, the department could offer its own buses for transporting children.Chakraborty said as state-run buses were already subsidised, running extra buses if required, won’t be a problem. Pool car owners claim that around 70 per cent of school children travel by pool cars.
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