Public transport unions seek permission for more passengers than prescribed limit
Wednesday, 21 April 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
The operators of city buses, Vikrams and autorickshaws do not expect the Uttarakhand Transport Department to double the fares of the passengers but urge to provide them relaxation in carrying more passengers than the prescribed limit. This was stated by the representatives of various unions of the public transports like city buses, Vikrams and autorickshaws in Dehradun while denying the speculations that the local public transport is charging a double fare.
According to the president of the city bus union, Vijay Vardhan Dandriyal, there is sufficient place among the passengers in a bus to maintain social distancing unlike three-wheeler vehicles. The city buses can be run while following all the covid guidelines without unnecessarily limiting the number of passengers, said Dandriyal. “We do not want the government to increase the fare excessively as it would be a burden to the local commuters and would avoid the buses. However, we expect the government to provide us exemption in tax and insurance in such critical times,” stated Dandriyal.
Pankaj Arora from Autorickshaw Union said they want the government to allow them to carry at least two to three passengers so that they do not lose their customers completely. “Autorickshaws run on contract permits and people generally book us to reach certain locations. Now the government has allowed us to carry only one passenger which is, of course, easier said than done. Where would we find a single passenger every time? People book us to go to places like hospital and there are generally one or two people with the sick person. How would we carry them? What about a mother with children or an old couple? Would we ask them to travel through different vehicles? The fare is not a big issue with us as we get the same rates to carry one, two or three passengers in a booking but who would book three autorickshaws for three different people of the same group. People who book an autorickshaw are mostly those who live together so like a private car, the government should allow at least two or three passengers in an autorickshaw,” said Arora.
The president of Uttarakhand Vikram Jankalyan Sewa Samiti, Rajendra Kumar also stated that operating Vikrams with 50 per cent occupancy is taking a toll on the daily earnings of the drivers. He said that the government has allowed only three passengers when five passengers can be seated easily in a Vikram while maintaining social distancing. He said that they have approached the regional transport office of Dehradun with their appeal to allow more passengers. “We do not expect the passengers to pay the double fare in such critical times but the slightest increase in the fare will help the drivers. In fact, some passengers are actually paying some extra bucks like Rs 25 instead of actual fare Rs 20 when they observe limited passengers due to covid guidelines,” said Kumar. However, he alleged that Dehradun RTO is targeting the Vikram operators by imposing unnecessary fines on them. He said that within the last few days, the RTO has imposed 50 fines stating that the drivers have been driving with more than the prescribed limit of the passengers. “They never mention clearly about the violation during the fines and to avoid any further hassle, the drivers don’t ask,” asserted Kumar. However, the RTO (enforcement), Sandeep Saini said that the fines are being imposed on those vehicle drivers who are not operating the public vehicles as per the recent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the transport department.
