Private bus operators could be having a free run as the Transport Department has stopped seizing buses that flout permit norms because it does not have a place to park the seized vehicles.
While the premises of Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) were being used to park seized buses till now, the High Court of Karnataka recently directed the department not to hand over seized private buses to State-owned public transport corporations as the latter were “rival operators”.
Since the department has been held responsible for maintaining the condition of the seized vehicles and it can no longer park them on BMTC or KSRTC premises, it is now looking for a safe place to park them. Potential sites have been identified at Devaraj Urs Terminal, Electronics City, K.R. Puram, and Vijayanagar.
Flouting norms
Rame Gowda, Transport Commissioner, said vehicles were being seized for flouting permits norms, including picking and dropping passengers, altering seats, and carrying luggage above the permitted limit, which makes the vehicles vulnerable to toppling at sharp turns. “They even transport petrol and two-wheelers in the bus belly, turning the vehicle into a potential bomb in case it catches fire,” he said.
Keeping seized vehicles in the department’s custody on paper while it remained with the owner, was impractical as bus owners would then “merrily continue to flout rules”, he said.
Mr. Gowda, however, said they were continuing to seize smaller vehicles such as maxi cabs for flouting norms since they occupy less space than buses.
