Despite awareness campaigns and stringent actions, the dangerous act of travelling on the footboard of buses continues unabated in the city.
In the absence of other modes of public transportation such as sub-urban trains, metro rail or mono rail or mass rapid transit system, the pressure on road traffic continues to increase. Either there is increase in number of vehicles, causing traffic snarls on roads, or the buses are fully packed, leading to travel on footboards during peak hours. During the peak hours (7.30 a.m. to 11 a.m and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.), one could observe commuters travelling on the bus footboards in places like Avinashi Road, Trichy Road and Saravanampatti.
Consumer activist K. Kathirmathiyon said the problem was equally prevalent in government and private buses during the peak hours. The major reason for footboard travelling was the lack of adequate number of buses. “In most of the buses, the number of passengers standing is higher than the capacity of the bus,” he claimed, alleging that neither the Transport Department nor traffic police were penalising such buses as per the Motor Vehicles Act. Overcrowding in buses, which led to commuters travelling on footboards, was an indication of inadequate number of buses, he said.
Noting that overcrowding was particularly high in private buses, Mr. Kathirmathiyon said that people preferred private buses to government buses because of the excess fare charged.
“Deluxe buses run by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) continue to charge excess fare, which makes many passengers wait for private buses,” he said. A member of the District Road Safety Committee, Mr. Kathirmathiyon noted that no strong action had been taken by the district administration to tackle these issues despite multiple representations.
A senior official from TNSTC Coimbatore Division said that all the newly-arrived buses had automatic doors, which prevented footboard travelling. However, in government buses that did not possess doors, conductors had been instructed not to allow footboard travel. “We are taking all possible measures to curb footboard travelling in the city,” the official said. Overcrowding and footboard travelling only occurred during peak hours and that TNSTC could not operate additional buses solely for these time periods every day, the official said.
A Transport Department official from one of the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the city said the traffic police personnel must monitor footboard travel across the city. “We do not have the numbers to check buses all over the city,” the official said. Nevertheless, the Motor Vehicle Inspectors and Regional Transport Officers from the four RTOs in the city conducted regular checks and issued notices to drivers and conductors of the buses that did not prevent footboard travelling.
Although a potentially fatal activity, footboard travelling is considered only a “minor offence” and is penalised under Section 177 (General provision for punishment of offences) of the Motor Vehicles Act, according to the Transport Department official. Even that attracts a meagre fine of ₹ 100 and it fails to act as a deterrent.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) R. Mutharasu said that no major accidents due to footboard travelling had occurred in Coimbatore city recently. “We conduct awareness programmes for college students advising them not to travel on footboards,” he said. During road safety meetings, the traffic police had instructed the conductors of private and government buses not to allow footboard travelling, Mr. Mutharasu said.