India, May 28 -- With schools across Pune set to reopen from the first week of June, parents may soon face a hike of up to 15% in school transportation fees as the school vehicles' association has indicated that it is considering revising charges due to the sharp increase in petrol, diesel and CNG prices over the past two weeks. According to transport operators, rising fuel prices coupled with increasing operational and maintenance costs, have made it difficult to continue services at existing rates.

They have pointed out that apart from fuel, the costs of tyres, batteries, servicing, spare parts and vehicle maintenance have also increased significantly over the past year. Maintenance costs alone have risen by nearly 25% to 30%, putting ...