Coronavirus: No bus fees if these UAE schools don’t reopen in April

DUBAI: A major school transport provider in Dubai has announced that no bus fees will be collected from students  if the schools do not reopen from "the start of April".

According to parents of students studing at GEMS schools in the UAE, they received a circular from the the UAE-based School Transport Services on Sunday, saying, “Regardless of the terms and conditions relating to bus fees, no bus fees will be charged for April or any future months until schools reopen and bus services recommence. In order to reduce the administrative burden and in light of schools still being in lockdown and the majority of our employees working remotely, we will hold any payments that you may have already provided to us for April and onwards, and advance them for the next school period of when services return to normal. You will not need to discontinue the service and re-register.”

The circular said, “During this critical time, we have been actively monitoring the COVID-19/Coronavirus situation and taking steps to support schools and help keep our services safe, and this includes all of our activity during the extended school closure period. It is important that we retain our employees and use this time to monitor their welfare and continue to sanitise and maintain our fleet in readiness for when schools reopen, and normal services recommence.”