The Road Transport Authority continued conducting raids on private travel agencies across the state on Monday, seizing 36 buses and booking 55. The raids are taking place in the light of the recent accident of a Shirdi-bound bus belonging to Sree Kaleswari Travels.
Among the buses seized, 18 belonged to Sree Kaleswari Travels alone. One downside of the raids has been that passengers from the twin cities had a tough time travelling to other parts of the state. The buses seized in the raids did not have the basic permits to run as contract carriers and those having licences had flouted most of the rules mentioned in the terms of the licence. “Most private travel firms are issued ‘Contract Carrier Permits’, they were illegally operating their bus services as stage carriers. These buses were also found to have seating arrangements in excess of the normal capacity of a bus, which generally ranges from 36 to 56 seats,” said additional transport commissioner P. Srinivas.
Reacting to the raids, the Private Travel Operators Association said that they were abiding by all the rules of the Motor Vehicles Act and had not flouted any rules.
* Sending shock waves among Visakhapatnam-based private tour operators, the transport department seized at least 11 buses in the district on Tuesday for violating safety norms. Special teams led by the deputy transport commissioner, Vizag, Mr K. Sambasiva Rao, seized vehicles belonging to Dhanunjaya, Naveen, Sree Kaleswari, Omar, Indu and Kaveri travels among others. Sources said after the city became a tourist hub, the private tour operators have thrown all norms to winds.
* As part of the statewide clampdown on private travels, the RTA authorities have conducted raids and seized three buses for moving without documents. They seized three school buses for operating after the expiry of fitness certificates. RTA deputy commisisoner A. Mohan said they had conducted raids on 30 travel agency offices of 16 travel agencies in Krishna district. They concentrated on the illegal plying of buses and collection of road taxes.