Student bus commuters in Kottayam, who often find no way to air their grievances following substandard quality of service, now have a system in place to redress their grievances.
Taking a serious note of the rise in complaints regarding ill treatment of student passengers, Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) officials in the district have begun reaching out to the student community to keep track of the developments.
As part of it, specially designated officials will be interacting with the students at bus stations, bus stops and even on board the vehicle during their journey.
“The officials have been asked to report any form of humiliation against the students which include denial of travel or seats, permitting only a limited number of students on board, not allowing them to board buses till others step in, rude behaviour and forcing them to get down midway. Based on their reports, stern action will be taken against the erring bus crew,” said Babu John, Regional Transport Officer, Kottayam.
The students are also being encouraged to communicate their complaints regarding bus travel directly to the RTO over phone.
Six complaints
“I have so far received six complaints this way and all of these have been addressed immediately,” the official added. Besides interacting with the students, the bus employees are being warned that discriminating against passengers is a violation of rules for getting a bus permit.
Notices served
The MVD has served notices on over 120 private buses plying across the district for various offences since the beginning of this year’s school season.
Two days ago, it also initiated action to cancel the licence of a bus conductor who forced a student to get down at a point far away from bus stop.
