Kochi: The making of shutter doors mandatory in city private buses from July 1 has evoked strong protest from the private bus lobby whose representatives will meet the Transport minister on Wednesday claiming that the measure would force many out of the business.
“The direction to fit shutter doors is not practical as then we will be forced to employ another crew member in addition to the three in a single bus. The daily collection is only in the range of Rs 900 to Rs 1,200 and employing another employee will result in paying out of the pocket. We will not employ any additional staff and the public will have to open and shut the doors all by themselves,” said M B Satyan, General Secretary of Private Bus Operators Association.
The bus owners further pointed out that the time period given to adhere to the decision was “too short” and that the measure would only result in more mishaps.
“We are not against safety and are ready to set up pneumatic doors in new buses being rolled out. However, fitting of shutter doors that need to be opened outwards will only result in mishaps. Further the final notification was out only two days ago and the time period given is too short,” said Lawrence Babu, General Secretary, Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation.
The decision would affect a majority of the 630 buses running in Kochi city. A team of representatives of the bus owners is slated to visit the transport minister on Wednesday at which a request will be submitted to change the current direction. “We are ready to fit pneumatic doors in new buses. Installing them in existing buses will mean huge expense as it will mean changing the body structure,” Babu said.
However, Ernakulam Regional Transport Officer K M Shaji warned of strict action against those buses which failed to comply with the order from July 1. “As per the amended Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, every stage carrier, including city/ town private buses needs to be fitted with two doors at the front and the rear of the vehicle. We will levy fines upto Rs 2000 for non-compliance,” the officer said.
