Why do private sleeper bus operators from the State get their coaches registered in other States like Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha and Pondicherry ? Because Andhra Pradesh and Telangana do not permit registration of such vehicles for lack of a policy on 2 + 1 sleeper buses seating 36 passengers.
Unlike the previous 1 + 1 pattern, passengers travelling in these buses sat facing the engine, thereby taking the shock when the brakes were applied.
However, most of the buses have separate computer monitors for each passenger and this level of comfort led to a spurt in the number of people preferring sleeper to the earlier seater coach, according to operators.
Transport officials of both States accepted that they could not register such vehicles. They, however, reiterated that under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, they could stop them at check-posts and charge the requisite per-seat-per-quarter tax, apart from imposing fine for ‘operation without valid permit’, under rule 85 (3).
They said the rule indicated that such vehicles would have to touch the State that issued All-India Permit, at least once in three months.
This is the basis on which the transport departments of the two States seized some vehicles in the past 10 days, following which operators pulled their sleeper buses off the road.
Of an estimated 900 such sleeper buses registered in Arunachal, about 500 touched Hyderabad every day. Now, in their absence, passengers were inconvenienced, say the operators.
Officials say they were going by orders while operators see harassment in the whole thing. “When 21 States are allowing registrations, why are the AP and TS governments cracking the whip on us ?” asked a fleet operator who did not wish to be named.
Neighbouring States including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh allowed these buses after the requisite taxes and permit fees were paid.
