Private bus operators found to be on the wrong side of law

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Violations by private buses operating in and around the city have become rampant. Permit condition violation is one of the major ones. As per the rule, buses are allowed to operate only on the routes within their limit. The terminus, from where the bus starts and the intermediate points must be mentioned on nameplates on the bus. Recently, under a special drive conducted by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD), the authorities inspected 61 private buses, of which about 42 buses plying in the city and other areas were booked for various offences. The drive followed several complaints from the public.

Reports on these buses were sent to the RTO. “We have received several complaints regarding various offences by the private buses plying in Thiruvananthapuram. Two major violations found during the inspection were under the permit conditions,” said Bijumon K, RTO (enforcement), Thiruvananthapuram.
In case of violations detected, a special report is prepared and a decision is taken in a meeting chaired by the district collector and the MVD officers.

“Some bus operators have already paid the fine while the rest are yet to pay. If the violations continue, we will cancel their permits,” said Bijumon.Fourteen private buses were found to be curtailing trips. There were also cases of the private buses discontinuing the trips in the morning and during afternoons citing that passenger turnouts were low.

The officials also booked nine buses for violating timings and eight for defective speed governors. Fifteen buses did not have the mandatory first aid box.Fire extinguishers were absent in 14 buses, More serious offences such as blocking the emergency exit with modifications were found in two buses. Ten conductors did not have the licence and uniform.

“We are aware of the violations but due to traffic bottleneck, it is difficult to stick to the time. Therefore buses may have to travel through a different route. Authorities ignore such hurdles before enforcing rules,” said M B Sathyan, president, Kerala Private Bus Operators Association.

However, some private bus operators were unaware of the buses booked for violations. “We are clueless of the violations reported against the private buses,” said Sabu, secretary, Private Bus Operators Association.

Report card

Total buses checked    61
Check report prepared    42
Trip curtailment    14
Time violation    9
Defective speed governor    8
Lack of first aid box    15
Lack of fire extinguisher    14
Emergency exit blocked    2
Conductor licence    10