Mangaluru : The office of the Senior Road Transport Officer, Mangaluru, has recommended to the State Transport Authority (STA) to cancel permits for at least 28 carriage buses operating out of Mangaluru, as the operators have persistently been violating permit conditions.

While the permit-holders are not supposed to operate the buses as regular stage carriages [picking up and dropping passengers en-route] and are supposed to operate from point to point ferrying groups of passengers, the conditions is not adhered to. Having obtained contract carriage permits on Nationalised routes, meant for exclusive operation of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), the operators have been running parallel services to KSRTC.

When the district magistrate (Deputy Commissioner) fixes cap on the maximum number of buses that can enter State Bank area in Mangaluru, thereby preventing entry of KSRTC in to city bus services, how contract carriage buses can enter State Bank, questions social activist G. Hanumanth Kamath.

As per the DM notification, these buses cannot proceed beyond Pump Well/ Kankanady, he says and adds the illegal operation has the tacit blessings of those in power. The buses are even provided parking space at the private service bus stand in State Bank from where they operate to Puttur, Uppinangady, Vitla and such other places on the Nationalised routes, just like regular buses.

The transport department, following frequent complaints from the general public, has started operation against contract carriage buses. Recently, the department seized several contract carriage buses, after which the operator had to pay fine in the court to get them released. “It is an irony that despite several seizures and payments of fine, the operator is again on the road the very next day after getting the bus released,” regretted in-charge Sr. RTO, Mangaluru G.S. Hegde. Unless a provision in the Motor Vehicles Act is made for forfeiture of the erring bus or cancellation of permit is made, no amount of penal action could deter the illegal operations, he said.

Consequently, he has recently written to the Secretary, State Transport Authority, which had issued the permits bringing to his notice the frequent violations of permit conditions. He has urged the Authority not to renew permits for buses for which the stipulated period is over and to cancel permits for those which still have validity.

KSRTC’s monopoly on nationalised routes in Dakshina Kannada district had always been under challenge. Before the Contract Carriage Act was repealed during the S.M. Krishna government, taxis were in vogue between Mangaluru and other neighbouring towns.

After repeal of the Act and permits were issued to contract carriage buses, taxis faded, mainly due to ‘threats’ by private bus operators. There is also an argument that had KSRTC been efficient in providing services, private operators would not have mushroomed.