Crackdown on private buses

Private buses will no longer be allowed to park or halt for passengers at Ameerpet, Punjagutta and in the vicinity of the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). In order to avoid traffic snarls, the city traffic police have taken the decision in consultation with private travel agencies at a meeting held recently.“If any private operator violates the rule, the traffic police will seize the buses and documents besides imposing a fine of Rs 5,000. Further, we have restricted the entry of private buses into the city after 8 a.m and before 10 p.m,” Punjagutta assistant commissioner of police (traffic) B Kamalakar Reddy told Expresso.The police crackdown on private buses started a few days ago as scores of vehicles parked on the roads from the Gokul Theatre, Erragadda to NIMS hospital were severely paralysing traffic movement. “The drive will be on till the situation comes under control,” he said.As many as 30 private buses were seized and penalties imposed in the first three days of the drive, he added.“Over 200 private bus services operating from BHEL and Kukatpally to various parts of the state pass through the busy Punjagutta junction every day playing havoc with the traffic. We instructed the travel agencies to stagger their services allowing 50 buses at a time with an interval of 15 minutes,” the ACP said. Meanwhile, caught in the drive, passengers are having to put up with a lot of inconvenience. “Travel agencies should adhere to rules and avoid police action. They collect high fares from passengers but do not take care of them. It’s very difficult to wait for hours sitting idly in a seized bus,” said K Eswara Prasad, a passenger in a private bus who was stranded at Ameerpet as police seized the bus.Simultaneously, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) officials also cracked down on errant private buses and seized more than five of them at Khairatabad. B Venkateshwarlu, joint commissioner, RTA told Expresso that they seized more than 20 buses as they plied without proper documents and additional seats.

Mouli Mareedu
moulimareedu@gmail.com