Commercial passenger vehicles in Assam started carrying 100 percent passengers from Friday - the first such instance since March when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to control the spread of Covid-19.
The move follows concessions made by the state government after the All Assam Motor Transport Association (AAMTA) launched an indefinite strike since Monday, seeking an increase in fares to offset losses suffered due to Covid-19 restrictions.
“The bus operators have been asked not to carry passengers beyond the total seating capacity, provide hand sanitisers, ensure everyone wears a face mask and sanitise the buses after each trip,” Ashok Bhattarai, chairman of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) said.
The list of demands by the AAMTA included waiving of road tax for one year, waiver of quarterly tax on vehicles, increase in bus fares and financial relief to transporters due to Covid-19 restrictions.
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As per the government guidelines, buses and other commercial passenger vehicles in Assam were operating with 50 percent occupancy to maintain social distancing among passengers.
{{/usCountry}}As per the government guidelines, buses and other commercial passenger vehicles in Assam were operating with 50 percent occupancy to maintain social distancing among passengers.
{{/usCountry}}To press for their demands, buses and other passenger vehicles stayed off the roads since Monday while the government tried to ease problems faced by passengers by plying around 650 buses belonging to the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) on the roads.
After a round of deliberations on Tuesday between the AAMTA and the government failed to end the strike, another meeting was held on Thursday where it was agreed that operating vehicles with 50 percent occupancy with the existing rates was not commercially viable.
“We received a notification from the government on Thursday evening allowing us to operate with 100 percent occupancy. We have called off our strike and most vehicles are back on the roads from Friday,” Pradip Das, general secretary AAMTA told media.
The government, however, refused to allow transporters to increase bus fares.