New colour code to be in force from March 1

Thiruvananthapuram: The new colour code scheme for contract carriages will be in force from March 1. The colour code was approved in a state transport authority (STA) meeting.
The contract carriage vehicles shall be painted in white with a violet ribbon of 10cm width with a metallic gold ribbon of 3cm width above the violet ribbon at the centre of the exterior of the side body.
The directive of the transport authority mentions about the specific size and colour to display the name of vehicle, if any. The name of the vehicle can be painted in white at the top of the front side of the vehicle in a normal font with a size not more than 12inch. Name of the operator or any other details can be painted in a column not more than 40cm height at rear portion of the vehicle and at full width of the vehicle.
The STA directive follows the high court order which declared that exhibition of gigantic figures of film stars or writings on the bus body and safety glass shall not be allowed. Also, the recent incidents of rash driving by tourist buses brought for tour programmes for school students led the authority to expedite the measures for road safety.
“Now, there is no uniform colour for the contract carriages plying in the state. It can be seen that most of the contract carriages are painted with figures of film stars, international players, pictures of wild animals, birds and with peculiar type of colour combinations... These paintings often attract the attention of other road users causing accidents. Therefore uniform colour code is to be enforced taking into consideration of all these factors and road safety concerns,” states the directive of STA.
While the new vehicles will have to follow the colour code for vehicle registration from March 1, the existing contract carriages will have to change the colour before they are brought for next fitness test.
“Only the new vehicles brought for registration from March will have to comply with the order. As only basic colours are fixed for the vehicle, the expenditure related to painting the vehicle will be 60% less. The similar colour code introduced for private bus operators was not a financial burden,” said transport minister A K Saseendran.