Following repeated representations by various organisations to regional transport authorities for several years, action has been initiated against private buses for halting the vehicles at select bus stops for a longer time to get more passengers and enhance revenue.
This often led to frequent altercations between bus drivers over the violation of stipulated time schedule. Parking of buses for a longer time led to denial of space for the buses that followed and chaotic traffic scenes at a number of bus stops across the city were witnessed.
A senior Regional Transport Office (RTO) official said that action could not be initiated against many buses as commuters did not lodge any complaints.
So far, the RTO office, Coimbatore Central, has suspended two drivers and as many conductors of a private bus (Route No 1C) from duty for a week on a complaint lodged by secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause K. Kathirmathiyon.
Mr. Kathirmathiyon said that buses patiently waited to pick up commuters, till or even after the next bus on the same route arrived and added that the Government buses too indulged in this practice.
He added that drivers made up the time lost in waiting by speeding on the busy city roads, skipping a few smaller stops, shouting at commuters to get down from the bus quickly and moving the bus even while commuters were boarding or alighting.
Women, school-goers and aged persons were no exemption to the situation.
At places such as Ramanathapuram bus stop on Pankaja Mill Road such long-waiting buses forced other vehicles to create traffic chaos.
Regional Transport Officer of Coimbatore Central S. Munusamy said that there was no particular time allotted for buses to stop at each bus stop. “Time is allotted for the departure and arrival at the terminals and to reach bus stands on the way,” he said. He said that commuters could lodge complaints against specific buses by writing to appropriate RTOs.
