Serious concerns like flouting of road safety rules — one of the key reasons behind major accidents — surfaced during the Pune RTO’s special drive to check overcharging of travellers by private operators in Diwali.
Of the total of 360 buses checked during the drive, as many as 125 were issued e-challans for different offences. “We had floated a WhatsApp number this time and the response was good. We are checking the 32 complaints received on it until now and penalised two buses for overcharging passengers. Rest of the fines imposed were related to other offences,” an RTO official said.
A total of 14 buses were penalised for either not having a fire extinguisher or the gadget not functioning. In addition to this, emergency exits of five buses were blocked or sealed. Six buses were running without the fitness certificate.
“These are basic needs as per traffic regulations, and we have told the bus operators several times to comply with them. Such violations are worrisome in the festival times, when there is a heavy rush of passengers. A lot of stress was put on the safety aspect of private buses after the Buldana accident, in which 25 people were killed. The bus associations had said they would ask their members to comply. But the reality bites,” the official said.
“As many as 22 buses were plying with dazzling lights, posing risk to other commuters on the road. The dazzling lights of those buses could leave drivers of other vehicles blinded, leading to accidents. A total of 13 buses had faults in reflectors and taillamps. As many as 25 buses were overloaded with goods and seven were plying without the permit,” another RTO official said.
Pune RTO Sanjiv Bhor said they had regular interactions with private bus operators. “Right before Diwali, we had a meeting with all big associations. They were cautioned on everything. Transporters really need to take care of all traffic regulations to avoid accidents,” he said.
Rajan Junavane, president of the Pune District Bus and Car Owners’ Association, said established transport companies were adhering to the norms. “Some transporters have small fleets and don’t care about regulations. They just want to earn more money. We try hard to convince them to obey the rules. We will look at taking tough steps against them,” Junavane told TOI.
