Pvt buses go off the road due to raids
VIJAYAWADA: Perhaps for the first time in recent times, not a single private bus has left for any destination from Vijayawada city on two days - Dec 28 and 29.
This is mainly attributed to the continuous checks and seizure of buses by the Road Transport Authority (RTA) officials who have intensified the checks after a major fire accident in a private bus at Palem in Mahabubnagar district which claimed the lives of 43 passengers.
According to RTA officials, 180 private buses were seized in the last two months, mainly for permit violations. The owners of 100 buses have applied for permission to stop their bus operations.
It is said that the owners, who wanted to avoid checks, have applied for stoppage of services so that they can save money as they are not required to pay quarterly tax of `1.5 lakh per bus.
Deputy transport commissioner Ch Sivalingaiah said 70 per cent of the seized buses belong to the city and added that charge-sheets were filed against 80 per cent of the owners and drivers of the vehicles.
As many as 498 private buses were registered as contract carriers in Krishna district. Nearly 30 private travels used to operate 250 to 350 bus services to Hyderabad and other areas from Vijayawada. Presently, only four or five buses are being operated.
'As per the Motor Vehicle Act, private operators are not allowed to use their buses as stage carriers and the online ticket booking system does not apply to this category of buses.
Booking agents are also liable for action, if they issue tickets for different stages through online process. RTA will conduct more raids for the sake of public safety', the DTC said.
On the other hand, the RTA officials are going to take action against the booking agents who are operating without obtaining licince from APSRTC.
'We have conducted raids on 30 booking offices including the office of the online booking agent 'Red Bus' and seized the documents. Many of these offices are normally run by the tour operators themselves. They should book tickets for contract carriages. Action would be taken against them after submission of the report,' the DTC said.
News Posted: 5 January, 2014
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