The stalemate between the Transport department and a section of contract-carriage bus operators having national permit is set to continue with Transport Minister Antony Raju warning of firm action against such buses, while a prominent operator affirmed that there is no going back on operating the buses.
The two were addressing mediapersons hardly 100 m apart, at Ernakulam Guest House and at Ernakulam Press Club respectively, on Tuesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Antony chaired a high-level meeting convened at the venue to discuss “illegal operations” by contract-carriage buses by “misinterpreting” the Centre’s new national permit norms, which was attended by, among others, Biju Prabhakar, Transport Secretary and chairman and managing director of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC); S. Srijith, Transport Commissioner; and officials of the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) and the KSRTC.
The Minister said that many contract-carriage buses were operating as stage-carriage services by collecting passengers en route. This was being done by “misinterpreting” the Centre’s notification regarding national permit buses. This was also a violation of the Motor Vehicles Act. Stern action will be taken against this trend. A meeting of MVD officials will be convened on September 12 to decide the further course of action, including seizure/permit cancellation of such buses, if needed, he added.
The Minister said deterrent steps will be taken against contract-carriage buses that operated in the State and along inter-State routes while being registered in other States in order to pay less tax. The MVD has readied a list of 50 such buses which ought to mandatorily make registration in Kerala within two weeks.
Answering a query on unprecedented fleet depletion in the KSRTC due to ageing and ill-maintained buses being sent for scrapping, Mr. Raju said the KSRTC-SWIFT deployed 397 buses and another 50 e-buses (in Thiruvananthapuram) in the past 18 months.
Speaking of safety concerns in public-transport buses, he said all KSRTC and private buses ought to install CCTVs, while seat belt would be made mandatory for driver and co-passengers by October 31.
Operators’ woes
Meanwhile, Baby Gireesh, whose bus ‘Robin’ that began service in the Ranni-Coimbatore route was intercepted by MVD personnel a few days ago, told media persons that there was urgent need to introduce another 35,000 public-transport buses in Kerala – a State where only 4,000 KSRTC and 7,000 private buses operated – in order to at least meet the national average of 1.33 buses per 1,000 people. Innumerable non-resident Keralites (NRKs) from the West Asia are keen to return to Kerala and operate buses, considering the increasing demand, he said.
“The KSRTC is struggling to maintain its fleet strength, including by extending the life span of its ageing super-class and other buses. A good share of its newer buses are being used for its budget tourism trips in violation of stage-carriage permits issued to them, leaving commuters with mostly rickety buses. It was in this context that I began operating my bus having push-back seats to Coimbatore on all-India tourist permit (AITP). There was high demand, even though the fare was relatively higher than that of KSRTC buses. Sadly, MVD personnel were directed to intercept the bus on technical grounds. They went on to issue a challan pinpointing a few ‘minor’ faults in the very bus that they issued fitness certificate. These were repaired within two hours. Not a single KSRTC bus would be able to operate if MVD personnel were to inspect them in a likewise manner, since they would fall short on innumerable counts,” said Mr. Gireesh.
Undeterred by the MVD action, 200 more private buses are readying to operate in Kerala after procuring AITP. The benefits are several, according to Ebenser Chullikkat, a public transport enthusiast, and C.P. Manilal, State president of the All Kerala Private Bus Members (AKPBM), an association of bus employees.
“These include improvement in the quality of service of public transport buses, employment opportunities for bus operators, crew and workshop personnel. While reducing the number of cars and two-wheleers – and also the pollution/accidents they cause – this would in turn help the State government earn ₹365 crore every year through taxes and fees from the buses,” they pointed out.
