SCHOOLS reopen in a fortnight, but do not expect many more of them to start classes later than the usual 7.30am.
Parents may want it and school principals may back it, but school bus operators have effectively put the brakes on any such move.
Veteran bus operator David Loh, 50, summed it up for others when asked what would happen if more schools start at 8am, the time that many factory workers begin work.
'Wan le,' he said in Mandarin, meaning: 'That's it. Finished.' Companies, he said, pay about twice as much as parents for a seat.
'If I have enough buses to ferry both children and workers, it's still okay. But if I find it really hard to cover both, I'm going to give up the schools.'
Parents have been asking for a later start for years. The Ministry of Education granted their wish this year when it announced that all primary schools will eventually have a single session, which gives them the option to start classes later.
But many bus operators said they do not have enough buses to ferry both schoolchildren and workers at the same time. For bus operators with bigger fleets, a change to the start time of schools will mean a complete rearrangement of logistics and routes.
'It's not that we don't want to support a later start time, but we need to be able to do it. We hope schools can understand our position,' said bus operator Lionel Lim, whose Bedok Transport provides buses for eight primary schools.
A handful of schools, however, have succeeded in making the later start time work. This usually involves hiring operators with bigger fleets, and those who transport workers with later start times.
Huamin Primary School in Yishun, which starts classes at 8am, has had no problems arranging school bus transport for its pupils, but vice- principal Tan Gim Hoon said it helps that it has only 50 children taking the school bus.
The school's bus operator, Mr Lim Siang Hai, said the workers he transports start work between 8.30am and 9am, so it is possible to ferry both schoolchildren and workers.
'My drivers get the children to school at 7.30am, then they pick up the workers,' said Mr Lim, who also has contracts with five other schools.
In the meantime, while some schools have instituted later start times, bus operators have not adjusted their schedules. Some still drop the children off as early as 6.50am, even though classes start only at 8am.
The only other option, say operators, is to raise fares for students to cover the loss from not ferrying workers.
Parents have protested, pointing out that some operators had already raised fares earlier in the year.
It is no wonder then that the Singapore School Transport Association's (SSTA) chairman Wong Ann Lin, 60, is a tad dejected.
'Sometimes, it feels like we are blamed for everything,' he told The Straits Times. 'But people don't understand that it's tough for us as well.'
The association represents the estimated 900 school bus operators here.
Besides single-session schools, some operators are also worried about a recent rule that makes seat belts in all small school buses compulsory by the end of 2011.
When new seats with attached seat belts come on board, the capacity on some buses will drop. This is because operators will no longer be able to seat three children on two seats like they used to.
'It will be tough for companies who have only one bus, or who do not have enough students to fill a big bus,' said MrWong.
A 35-year-old bus operator, who wants to be known only as Mr Tey, said he would have no choice but to give up ferrying some schoolchildren.
He has only two 10-seater buses, and each seats 14 children currently.
'I can't buy another bus; it's too expensive. But if I give these children up to other bus operators, I will lose several hundred dollars each month,' he said.
Having seat belts for a safer ride is, however, one demand they can accept. Not so easy to live with are some of the other expectations.
'Nowadays, parents want their children to be comfortable. So they demand that you pick up their kids last but take them home first. How is that possible?' asked Mr Tan Swee Huat, 52, who has been in the business for 20 years.
Then there are the extreme cases, like a mother who asked Mr Wong why his school bus did not come with 'extra entertainment' for her daughter.
'She asked me, 'Why can't your bus attendant tell some stories? Help my daughter with her homework?',' he recalled with a laugh.
Unable to cope with the growing list of demands, some like Mr Lin Sing Sian, 57, are choosing to ferry fewer schoolchildren.
He used to provide transport for more than 10 schools, but parents would call him up to 20 times a day to 'complain about one thing or another'.
'They demanded a perfect service, and said we must pick up their children from their doorstep instead of from a convenient common pick- up point,' said Mr Lin, who started cutting back on school runs five years ago.
'The stress is too great, it's not worth it,' he said. His core business now is transporting workers.
Others are contemplating giving up the trade altogether.
The SSTA said about 70 per cent of its members are over the age of 50. And among the veterans in the industry, most will not pass the business on to their children.
'Young people will not want this job. You take no public holidays, and you have to work on weekends,' said Mr Loh.
There is, however, some reason to hope, going by the younger faces that have surfaced in the industry.
Ms Jean Teo, 37, took over her father's bus company seven years ago and has slowly built up the business.
She now runs a fleet of 14 buses and is providing ad-hoc transport for over 10 schools as well as daily transport for workers.
'My father and I slogged really hard over the years. The transport industry is not good money, but it is stable and we try to make the best out of it,' she said.
LACK OF UNDERSTANDING
'Sometimes, it feels like we are blamed for everything. But people don't understand that it's tough for us as well.'
Singapore School Transport Association's chairman Wong Ann Lin
TUTOR AND STORYTELLER TOO
'She asked me, 'Why can't your bus attendant tell some stories? Help my daughter with her homework?'.'
Mr Wong, quoting a mother who asked why his school bus did not come with 'extra entertainment' for her daughter
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