Will new buses have two devices to curtail speed?

Panaji: Even as the government has postponed the deadline to install speed governors for M1 category (taxis) vehicles to February 2018, other vehicles in Goa are mandatorily required to fit the device.

In Goa, taxis above eight-seater capacity, goods vehicles, tempos, buses and trucks are required to install them. While buses, both private and public, plying in Goa have been fitting speed governors as per the rules, the Bharat Stage Four (BS-IV) buses are faced with a paradox. These vehicles come pre-installed with an electrically controlled unit (ECU), which allows to preset the speed of the bus to a desired limit. Thus, technically performing the function of a speed governor. Yet, these same buses have to also mandatorily install speed governors as per the Central Motor Vehicle (CMV) rules.

"There is no mention of ECU in the foregoing provisos of the CMV rules. The rules need to be amended to state that the ECU can be preset by the dealer or manufacturer, but the speed cannot exceed 60km/hr. It is up to those affected to move a proposal to the apex court for an amendment," a transport department official said.

The emission standards, known as BS-IV norms, were put in place by the central government in April 2010 and came into effect nationwide from 2017 onwards.

In 2017, the central government allowed registration of new buses and trucks only if they met BS-IV norms and therefore buses registered in Goa from April have to be BS-IV compliant.

"Buses registered since April this year are all BS-IV. Those vehicles which already have speed governors have been exempted from the installation but others, including the ECU ones, have been asked to comply with the rules," transport assistant director (North), BA Sawant said.

New buses acquired by the state-run Kadamba transport corporation limited (KTCL) are BS-IV compliant, andthe corporation is bearing a cost of Rs 11,000 per bus to install a speed governor.