Transport minister Antony Raju said on Thursday the government will not buckle under any pressure from private bus operators who have called for a strike on October 31 raising various demands, including the revision of student concession rates. The bus owners have also been protesting against the decision that it will be mandatory for drivers to wear a seat belt and to install surveillance cameras.The minister said the government had given enough time for the bus operators to install cameras and seat belts as requested by them.
The decision to make seat belts compulsory for drivers was informed to the private bus owners when the AI-enabled cameras were installed on the state’s roads. These rules are not introduced by the state government but part of the Central government’s stipulations, said the minister.
“When the government insisted on having CCTV cameras in buses, the private bus owners initially sought two months’ time. Later, they said good quality cameras weren’t available in the market and hence they need more time. Hence, the government granted a seven-eight-month extension of time,” said Raju.
The private bus owners themselves had said that they were being falsely implicated in cases following road accidents. The installation of CCTV cameras is going to help them during such instances, the minister added. After cameras were installed in SWIFT buses, the authorities were able to know about the real reasons behind the accidents. So, the private bus owners should understand the fact they it will benefit them, Raju added.
The minister said the representatives of private bus owners had met him on Wednesday and had demanded that surveillance cameras should be insisted only on buses that attend fitness tests from November 1. The government had told them that such a suggestion can be considered but they went ahead with the decision to give the strike notice, which was quite surprising, said the minister.
