Even as it was decided at a high-level meeting convened in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to clamp down on national permit-holding contract-carriage buses ‘misusing’ All India Tourist Permit (AITP) and operating on routes of their stage-carriage counterparts, bus operators and a section of Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) officials cite provisions of Central Motor Vehicle Rules based on which they can collect passengers en route much like stage-carriage buses.
They cite Sections 82 to 85 (A) of the Central rules that had been ‘waived’ to allow buses with AITP to operate on any route. “This waiver permits them to operate just like stage-carriage buses and even permits them to enter bus stands and collect passengers who had booked tickets individually or as a group. Moreover, the Central Rules that were aimed at ensuring seamless operation of public-transport buses would prevail, even if States tried to curtail their operations,” said an official who was among those who attended the high-level meeting.
However, operators must ensure that buses holding AITP adhere to all technical parameters, which include having wide, push-back seats and pneumatic doors as mentioned in the bus-body code AIS-052. These vehicles must also be less than 12 years old. Moreover, the age limit of KSRTC’s super-class buses is slated to be revised to 12 years, from five years. This and slack upkeep have already contributed to deteriorating condition of most super-class buses of the agency. Also, KSRTC is unable to roll out new buses due to lack of funds. It is in this situation that there is increasing demand for private buses with AITP. The MVD officials who are deputed for enforcing AITP rules are often in a quandary since operators cite that their buses are much better maintained than KSRTC’s super-class buses, he added.
Another senior MVD official spoke about how the AITP must be mandatorily issued to an applicant within seven days of receiving an online application or plainly rejected. Efforts are underway to ensure that buses and other vehicles adhered to all technical specifications. Court orders in this regard are being vetted and physical verification of the vehicles would have to be done, he said.
Baby Gireesh, whose bus with AITP was withdrawn from service along the Pathanamthitta-Coimbatore route after MVD inspection, said the State government would get around ₹6 lakh every year from a 40-seater bus having AITP permit, while it would be less than half the sum for a stage-carriage bus. Another ₹3 lakh has to be paid to the Centre to get the permit. I have approached the court challenging the MVD cancelling the fitness certificate of my bus, he added.
