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RTO seizes 43 private buses over hiked ticket prices
Between May 2 and May 15, Pune RTO inspected 571 buses belonging to private operators, out of which 153 were found guilty of inflating the fare.
The regional transport office (RTO), Pune, has started taking action against private buses operators, who have been overcharging passengers and also for other violations. The RTO has issued notices to eight operators and seized 43 buses under the ongoing drive that started earlier this month and collected a fine up to ₹12 lakh.
Pune RTO received complaints about private bus operators charging more than the prescribed limit. Hence, the RTO issued notices to operators asking them for clarification.
The state government had issued a resolution on April 28, 2018, on the basis of a Mumbai high court directive that private buses cannot charge more than 150 per cent of the fare charged by the Maharashtra state road transport corporation (MSRTC) buses per km. However, private bus operators continued to tax passengers because of the absence of enforcement and accountability of the government agencies.
Sanjay Raut, deputy RTO, said, “Since the vacation season is going on, many private bus operators started charging more than double the fare as compared to MSRTC’s fare, which is illegal and we have received many complaints regarding the issue. Hence, we have started taken action under contempt of court and seized 40 buses in two days.”
Some of the names of bus operators whose buses were seized are Dakshayani travels, Anmol travels, Pooja travels, Sai Shraddha travels, Onkar travels, Royal travels, Aditya travels, Heena travels, Krishna travels, Vanshri travels, Lucky travels and Kaveri travels.
Between May 2 and May 15, RTO Pune inspected 571 buses belonging to private operators, out of which 153 were found guilty of inflating the fare. The RTO seized 43 buses which were plying without fulfilling RTO norms, like fitness certificates, pending vehicle tax and permits.
The passengers commuting to destinations like Nagpur, Amravati, Aurangabad and Nanded from Pune by private buses during summer season have been paying exorbitant prices for their travel. Many believe that the huge demand for tickets to certain destinations and limited availability of buses has led to the scenario of overcharging and exploiting passengers.
Earlier, Hindustan Times had reported how Diwakar Raote, the state transport minister, has promised action against private bus operators by cancelling their permits if they continue to fleece passengers by overcharging them.
