With the RTA seizing nearly 350 private buses and 1,500 school buses so far in their statewide crackdown against wayward driving, state transport commissioner Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday warned private travel operators and school managements of stringent action, if vehicles were still found violating the Motor Vehicles Act. Officials said that out of 28,000 school transport vehicles in the state, only 23,000 have acquired fitness clearance and are steered by drivers who have renewed their licence after mandatory inspections.
While private operators had started adhering to norms under the Act following continuous crackdown by the transport department authorities, most of them are back to their errant ways, the officials said. Many of these private operators ran buses as stage carriers with contract carrier permits, with no information on the number of passengers, and transported commercial goods freely before the statewide crackdown began, officials said.
Mr Sanjay Kumar said raids to check illegal operators would be a continuous process, adding that 356 private buses and 1,518 school buses have been seized so far. “Cases have been booked against 858 private travels and 1,849 school buses,” Mr Sanjay Kumar said. “The RTA has (till date) seized 1,470 school vehicles found operating without the annual fitness clearance and the mandatory driver licence renewal. The buses will be released only after their owners go for a fitness clearance and their drivers clear the driving test,” Mr Sanjay Kumar added.