types of public bus transport operations

The accident involving a Volvo bus that charred 45 people to death (near Mahboobnagar), has brought into focus illegal operations of buses that have a contract carriage licence, but operate as stage carriers. - - Stage carriage buses are the only ones allowed to issue tickets to passengers. Contract carriages, on the other hand, are hired by one single group.

Although the city sees numerous such violations, the state transport department seems helpless in curbing the problem. A senior source in the ministry said, “There are numerous violations and the transport department is acting on it. However, this is difficult because of the lobbying involved.”

For the full report in the New Indian Express, click here.

One should think that was the reason for the accident.

Now, I travel quite often by these buses to Kochi - the regular operators being Kallada, Sharma, SB, KPN, Greyhound, etc. Generally, I take a bus at around 10 PM from Madiwala, and I am in the heart of Kochi by 6 next morning, after a fairly comfortable journey. The charge is around Rs 1200/-, and the entire process of booking the ticket, paying for it (all on-line), boarding the bus, etc are totally smooth (of course, it could be a lot better).

As compared to that, if I were to take a flight, it will entail a spend of a minimum of 6 hrs of your day time, in addition to a minimum of 5 times the bus fare. Getting a booking on a train, on short notice, is a near impossible task even through Tatkal.

But, there is a hitch. All of these operate as "Contract Carriage" services, governmed by the Contract Carriage Act (CCA). This means that they are in violation of the rules (under the Act), if they pick up a passenger from Electronic City, Hosur, Palghat, Trissur, or anywhere enroute, even if there are vacant seats; likewise too, if they drop off a passenger anywhere along the route.

During Diwali and such holiday times, when there is a huge rush (as in the instant Jabbar Travels case), the crew try to make a few extra bucks for themselves by accommodating stray passengers on temporary seating arrangements (generally along the aisle). While it does cause inconvenience to the regular passengers, and loss of income to the operator, in no way can it be seen as a safety issue. But, of course, it is a transgression of CCA.

Leaving aside all of that, the very meaning of "Contract Carriage" is like a marriage party, or a school/ college excursion group, entering into a contract with an operator to take the lot (whose names and other particulars have to be listed out), and nobody else, to the destination (and perhaps back). As such, issuing of tickets to individuals, etc, as is the current practise, is in itself a violation of the CCA.

All of the above means that none of the agencies are operating legally. The same applies to the SRS Travels, Satya Sai Travels, and various maxi-cab operations you come across in the city too. And, this is precisely the reason why reputed houses, like TVS (who started off as bus service providers in the city of Madurai), who would otherwise have very much liked to get back into this huge and ever growing business, are keeping their safe distance.

Now, everybody can see that there is a huge demand, and that the government can't possibly meet all of it by itself (even if it can, a monopoly can never be a good proposition). However, given the kind of restrictions (license - permit raaj) prevailing, it is only the Kallada, Sharma, Jabbar types, in the South, and Ponty Chaddha types in the North, who are prepared to "play" the current game. And, they being they, is why the services can't reach the professional levels of a Indigo or Go-Air of the airlines sector. All the same, I would still place my bets on a Kallada to travel to Kerala, a VRL to Mangalore/ Mumbai, and a KPN to Madurai, than the SRTC operations. The ones at the lower end however are generally bad, and theirs are the kind of (dis) services the detractors of privatisation love to cite and create phobia over.

The scenario being as plain and straight forward as that, one would expect of a responsible government to facilitate entry of reputed players into this vital infrastructure field. All that is needed is to amend the debilitating provisions in the CCA, or, better still, scrap the Act itself. It was possibly instituted with a view to maximising revenue. Whereas that approach may be OK for the tobacco or liquor sectors, it should never be so for infrastructure sectors, where you need more and more investments from good players.

And, once reputed private players come into the picture with their kinds of services, the citizens will be more than happy to leave their cars and bikes at their homes, and take to the buses for their commuting needs. And, with that, many of the city's traffic problems will get sorted out automatically, and without having to go for the extremely costly BRT and such options. Even the METRO need be thought of only when a city expands beyond say 7.5 million population.

A major problem is the low awareness levels amongst the public about these basic facts. But, more unfortunate is of the role of a few, who, though largely aware of all of these, but choose to stick on steadfastly to their dogma's by perpetuating a fear psychosis about private operators as a whole.

PS: The Mahboobnagar accident by itself was a minor one. But, what happened was the catching of the fire, and the spread of it (and smoke) far faster than the passengers could take action to exit. Volvo is studying what went wrong, and hopefully will effect design corrections accordingly.

With two buses catching fire in the recent past, the transport department has decided to crack down on operators violating permits and carrying cargo tourist busines. - - - Those found violating the rule will be issued a notice and the bus owner has to face legal consequences. The fine ranges from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000, and the permit is also liable to be cancelled. - - - - It is common for private buses to carry goods and luggage in the hold and on the roof. Often, they transport two-wheelers, gas cylinders, lubricant cans and other dangerous items. A private bus service manager said business will suffer without revenue from parcels. "Normally, we don't carry parcels, but those who find it difficult to transport goods on trains rely on us," he added.

For the full report in the ToI, click here.

Any accident is an opportunity for the babu's. Twice the 2k to 5k being fined will of course be going into their pockets, as also up the supply chain. Now, transporting inflammatory material, in vehicles other than those specifically assigned for the purpose, is illegal. There are no two opinions on that. But, what is the harm in carrying ordinary parcels, duly tax paid, to earn a bit more revenue?

The compelling factor that goes against private bus operators is that no matter what permits they hold, they tend to misuse them to operate in the manner that suits them best to maximize revenues, even at the expense of passenger conveniences & safety.

So, according to you, private bus operators are and will remain thugs, whatever one may do. But, when it comes to airport development and operations (and other areas too), they are the ultimate (going by your own statements, cited below, from here).

Chennai's airport newly "modernized" & being operated by AAI is having all kinds of problems like roof leaking, repeated instances of false ceiling pieces falling off, baggage belt too steep, toilets dirty /stinking, unfriendly staff, long wait for baggage reclaim, etc. Compared to this, BIAL (& all other privately built or modernized airports that charge UDF) is a huge improvement & investments have to be recovered & running costs are high.

Now, I am wondering what if GVK, who are operating the BIAL and supposedly doing a good job of it (by your own reckoning), get into public bus transport services. Will they too turn bad boys? In both services? Or remain good in airport operations, and bad in bus operations? Just curious.

PS: I can't see the relevance of your citing travel experience from your college days. Whatever, that's clearly a case of overloading, and will not be accepted in today's world. Agencies like REDBUS, through whom you make bookings today, collect feedbacks from travellers, and provide ratings for the services. When I make a booking, either for myself or any of my family members (just last night, my 72 yr-old m-i-l left by SRS Travels sleeper, all by herself, to Karkala), I choose the service provider by the REDBUS ratings, which are fairly reliable. Those with poor ratings will eventually have to shut shop.

 

@ Naveen - So, essentially, what you are saying is that, as long as we have swanky airports (operated by the private sector) for the customers from higher income brackets, who will not accept any nonsense, everything is fine. And that buses are after all for the cattle, and they need remain just cattle-class (after all, it's the same in Bangkok, Manila, Mexico city, etc). But, can the air services take care of the humungous and exponentially multiplying travel demands of the country's population, even if they can afford the huge costs (which they can't)? The answer very clearly being in the negative, do we then not have to look for solutions? And again, when it's very clearly seen that government operators (particularly monopolies) have serious capacity limitations, shouldn't a responsible government be looking for ways to make the private operators meet the challenges, whatever, particularly when they have shown their capabilities in other sectors? And, likewise, shouldn't it be incumbent on every responsible citizen to demand that?

As far as urban transport is concerned, the only way private operators can provide good, safe services is with dedicated busways & payments based largely on customer service & mileage driven - reward for passenger volumes must be a smaller quantum & monitoring will have to be by electronic means as even BMTC conductors are known to fleece passengers by not issuing tickets.

So, by this, are you suggesting that every little Chitradurga, Kollegal, Madikeri, Udupi, etc, have buse services only of the BRT variety?

2(40) “stage carriage” means a motor vehicle constructed or adapted to carry more than six passengers excluding the driver for hire or reward at separate fares paid by or for individual passengers, either for the whole journey or for stages of the journey.

The above extract, from the M V Act, again indicates that individual tickets can be issued only for journeys by buses licensed under the Stage Carriage Act. Either way, I propose to raise a querry with the Transport Department on this aspect.

In the aftermath of the Mahbubnagar accident, we have registered 601 cases and seized 346 buses for different violations like lack of permit, overloading of passengers, operating as stage carriers, etc ‘’The drive will continue even on RTC buses,” Botcha (AP transport minister Botcha Satyanarayana) said.

The owner of the ill-fated bus JC Uma Reddy of JC Travels (apparently the agency that hired the bus to Jabbar Travels) will be booked, he told reporters on Wednesday said.

For the full report in the New Indian Express, click here.

The implication of this is that insurance companies can deny compensation claims stating that the operation was in violation of the Contract Carriage Act. This is inspite of the fact that the so-called violations were totally trivial, in no way the cause of the accident, and of meaningless provisions of the Archaic Act.

The actual cause has now been more or less determined, going by the following excerpts from this report in the ToI:

Speaking to TOI, APFSL director A Sharada said the preliminary forensic analysis of samples collected from the bus have not showed any traces of the presence of an explosive material. The accident occurred when the right bottom exterior of the bus came in contact with the six-inch metal railing projection on the culvert after the driver temporarily lost control over the steering, she said.

Owing to the high speed, the 26-feet-long railing broke into two pieces. While the first half of the railing pierced the bus, the remaining portion was dragged along for 170 feet on the road before the driver saw the fire and stopped the bus.

The first portion of the railing punctured the right side of the diesel tank causing leakage of fuel while the other half caused sparks. Due to the heat generated, the diesel which has a flash point between 60 to 100 degrees centigrade caught fire which quickly reached the second tank on the left side of the bus, the AC and the rear engine.

"Thick smoke engulfed the bus and the way in which the charred bodies were found in the seats suggests that most inhaled carbon monoxide that might have come through the AC vents in the otherwisee closed bus. The inhalation of the poisonous gas might have incapacitated the victims and resulted in their death minutes before the bodies were engulfed in flames. There were diesel fume marks on all the survivors," the forensic expert who prepared the report told TOI.

The APFSL officials also analyzed the blood samples of bus driver Feroz Pasha for traces of alcohol. However, the result was negative.

So much for the "explosives" theorists.

@MaheshK

Buses are used everywhere so that there is profit all the time. If a private bus is parked for a few hours, private operators feel that they are losing money. As KSRTC is govt run, profitable or not, things move on.

And, here's how APSRTC, within a week of the occurance of the accident, uses the opportunity to hike its fares - for the full report in the New Indian Express, click here

Justifying the hike in bus fares, Botcha (AP minister) said that the increased fares, which came to effect from Wednesday, would not burden the public much. The fares of Palle Velugu buses have been increased marginally with just Re 1 for 5-35 km and Rs 2 for 35- 50 km. The minister said around 50 crore people would travel annually in Palle Velugu buses. The fare hike was just 15 paise for Garuda Plus buses, 12 paise for Indra, 11 paise for Super Luxury, nine paise for Delux and seven paise for Express buses. - - - The fare hike would fetch the RTC an additional revenue of Rs 450 crore and it would help the RTC to recoup some of the losses.

Of course, they are only doing it only to recoup some of their losses. In a monopoly situation (only they are licensed as Stage Carriage operators), one would normally expect a process of citizen consultation through a regulatory mechanism, like in the case of State Electricity Regulatory bodies. Well, that's government for you!

@ MaheshK

Brilliant deductions, boss! Besides, you appear to have some inside info too. Shouldn't you be taking up these matters with the CBI (ok - there's a problem there - with their locus standii in question now), or atleast IG level officials of AP and Karnataka police? But, then again, "they are govt agency and can be influenced by the netas"!!! So, what do you do? How about Tehelka?

"govt agency and can be influenced by the netas" - so, can't be trusted. APFSL too can't be trusted, for the same reason. The private operators can't be trusted, ever. So, apparently, in this kali-kala nobody can be trusted - guess that's our fate, for all the sins committed in our past janma.

@ Naveen

Fake registration numbers
Fake permits
Used chassis from scrapped or used buses
Body built by private coach builders
One or no emergency window
Windows concealed or tinted
Luggage is never checked
Overloading of rooftop and hold of the bus
No first aid box, or box with inadequate medicines
Drivers, conductors not trained to handle emergencies, have no technical knowledge

Indeed the above quite defines the riff-raff sector (or mafia) that's largely in control of the public bus transport services sector today. But, simultaneously it's also true that the government monopoly service providers just don't have the capacity to take care of the humungous and exponentially multiplying travel demands of the country's population. That being the scenario, like I have been repeatedly saying, shouldn't a responsible government be looking for ways to make the private operators meet the challenges, whatever, particularly when they have shown themselves to be capable in other sectors? And, likewise, shouldn't it be incumbent upon every responsible citizen to demand that?

But, apparently, as far as you are concerned, private sector is an absolute no-no in the case of public bus transport services, even as you celebrate their presence in civil aviation, airport management, apart from being welcoming of them in hotels, power, airlines, telecom (from here), apart from other areas too, I expect. Well, as such, I expect, yours falls into a unique category not quite provided for in my listing of causes for people to oppose privatisation (check here). I'll list it at "t" now.

Incidentally, who do you think is responsible for the huge T & D losses (euphemistically referred to as theft & dacoity) in power supply, when handled by the government agencies? It's the similar riff-raff lot as in the case of bus services, in collusion with the agency's internal mafia. There is the unique case of a Delhi cabinet minister, who was running an energy intensive battery charging unit, right in the heart of the city, when the distribution was in the hands of DESU. Today, with the likes of TATA's taking over, the genuine T&D losses are being recorded at internationally acceptable levels, and power availability is being recorded at 99.9% (check here).

Similar is the scenario in water supply in Namma Bengaluru, with unaccounted for losses recording at over 40%, and the alternate sources being in the control the tanker, bottled water (with fake ISI labels), borewell mafia, aided and abetted by the mafia within the BWSSB.

The Delhi power privatisation has shown the way out in that specific area. Likewise, there are solutions for all problems too if one wants to look for them. And, there exactly is where the problem lies.

My statement: This is inspite of the fact that the so-called violations were totally trivial, in no way the cause of the accident, and of meaningless provisions of the Archaic Act.
Naveen's counter: 45 dead is trivial? The accident is a serious one that took many lives & only a very biased person would try to argue that it was "trivial"

N: some news reports stated the bus was carrying loaded explosives in the cargo hold
Me: The investigation is still on - can't jump to conclusions. Later - So much for the "explosives" theorists.

Me: And, you may be sure they(Volvo)'ll get to the bottom of it all, and if there are design deficiencies, they'll effect the necessary correctives too
N: but it wasn't the faulty bus design theory either.
Me: where did I theorise?

Me: Even Mr Ravikumar, IAS, the Secretary, Transport Dept, GoK, openly admitted as much (about the rules being archaic) at the Volvo seminar on the 7th.
N: perhaps the transport secretary is a bus owner himself

Me: Indeed the above (referring to the list of misdeeds by private operators, posted by Naveen) quite defines the riff-raff sector (or mafia) that's largely in control of the public bus transport services sector today. But, simultaneously it's also true that the government monopoly service providers just don't have the capacity to take care of the humungous and exponentially multiplying travel demands of the country's population. That being the scenario, like I have been repeatedly saying, shouldn't a responsible government be looking for ways to make the private operators meet the challenges, whatever, particularly when they have shown themselves to be capable in other sectors?
N: but there are few who speak very favorably on the behalf of erring bus owners even after they are clearly accountable for gross violations that resulted in many lives lost. Such biases do not in any way help in the efforts to improve them & "meet the challenges".

I expect even a Manish Tiwari or a Kapil Sibal will find themselves beaten hollow in the game.

There are two types of permits for buses - stage carriage permit and contract carriage permit. Stage carriage permits allow bus operators to pick up passengers from multiple places and book individual seats on buses (regular services of KSRTC, for instance). Contract carriage buses operate as tourist vehicles where in order to transport a group of people from destination A to B, the bus has to be booked in bulk. An all India omni bus permit is given to those buses operating as contract carriages in more than three states.

P Ravi Kumar, Principal Secretary, Transport Department, reading a High Court Order said that the difference between the two permits was in the intention of travelling. “In case of contract carriages, the intention is to travel together to a marriage or family function, a religious or political function,” he said.

There are a total of 33,000 buses with stage contract carriages, of which 24,000 buses belong to KSRTC and 9,000 buses are owned by private travel agencies. 2,053 buses operate with a contract carriage.

Both the buses involved in the accidents were tourist buses and were operating in violation of the permit. Department officials say this is rampant and difficult to implement for reasons such as the lobby involved in bus operations, the fact that the State Transport Authority does not have adequate staff to implement and enforce the Motor Vehicles Act and prefer to turn a blind eye to the violations.

K Amar Narayan, Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety as well as various officials in the Transport Department admit that there are buses that operate in violation of the contract carriage permit. However, they play it down, saying violations have been happening for a long time. The shortage of staff is so severe, in fact, that the department brought in 20 inspectors from other parts of the state to form 10 squads that would check various violations, including permit violations, said R V D’Souza, Joint Director, Transport Department.

For the full report in the New Indian Express, click here.

Whatever, nobody wants to talk of the absurdity of the law, which is keeping away the reputed houses, and repealing/ amendment of which can change the scenario totally. All they are interested in is perpetuating the inspector raaj

I had earlier stated - And again, when it's very clearly seen that government operators (particularly monopolies) have serious capacity limitations, shouldn't a responsible government be looking for ways to make the private operators meet the challenges, whatever, particularly when they have shown their capabilities in other sectors? And, likewise, shouldn't it be incumbent on every responsible citizen to demand that?

It is time responsible citizens spoke up and made the government respond responsibly. The answer clearly lies here.

Where in the article it says that there are no bus services? - - - This has nothing to do with the bus service.

I wonder if a person making such a comment has ever travelled outside a city other than in a car

A city-based private operator, who owns over 100 Volvo buses, said he pays Rs 12,100 as road tax alone per seat every year for inter-state buses. “For a bus of 44 seats, the annual tax incurred goes up to Rs 5.32 lakh. In this situation, if private operators lose two seats, they incur huge losses,” he added.
    
Another operator based in Hubli said operators compromise on safety because of heavy taxes. “To offset this, they use buses as courier service and carry goods. If two seats are removed for an emergency exit, it’s likely that they’ll compromise even more on safety,” he added.

For the full report in the ToI, click here.

Rs 5.32 lakhs per annum for the official "Contract Carriage" licence fee, and since this does not allow for a regular bus operation, the huge amount of "hafta's" have to be paid in addition, which can vary according to the season. If it's the RTO's daughter's wedding, it can perhaps match the official fee even.

In the first place, why should the official fee be so high, when these operators are meeting a need, in the basic infrastructure services sector, that the government does not have the capacity to meet? This is precisely what I meant when I posted as below in my post of the 6th Nov.

"The scenario being as plain and straight forward as that, one would expect of a responsible government to facilitate entry of reputed players into this vital infrastructure field. All that is needed is to amend the debilitating provisions in the CCA, or, better still, scrap the Act itself. It was possibly instituted with a view to maximising revenue. Whereas that approach may be OK for the tobacco or liquor sectors, it should never be so for infrastructure sectors, where you need more and more investments from good players."

@ Mahesh K - Does it require a newspaper to tell anyone that there are no bus services? As for doing better, I doubt I can say the same for you.

@ Mahesh K - When, even between as important towns as Hubli and Karwar, people are complaining of inadequate bus services (check here), where will you have any worthwhile services in as remote places as the ones in question? Even the ones you may have, will be licenced under Contract Carriage Act (if licenced at all - in fact, that goods carrier was operating as an unlicenced bus service), which will again mean it will be operated by some mafioso, using junked SRTC buses, since no operator worth his name will want to operate under the severe constraints.

Now, if you want to accept these views, well and good. If not, please stick to your views; I'll stick to mine - let's stop boring others. Whatever, I have no interest in imposing my views on others, least of all on you.

NS: may be it would be worth while to check up whether the bus builder has cot some corners to reduce the cost.

Me: The buses involved here are the Volvo's - easily the costliest buses in the country, and costlier by some 5 times the regular TATA/ Leyland buses. As such, they have been targeting a different market segment altogether. To think that they would resort to cutting corners here is rather preposterous

MK: If private operators find the conditions crippling then who forces them to sign the contract?

Me: Yes, that's why respectable private players (like TVS, who started off as bus service providers in Madurai) have kept away from the scene, providing an opportunity for what I have termed the "riff-raff sector", the likes of Ponty Chaddha of Delhi (he died later, though) to grab it all. He will grab it, and pay his way through. In fact, even the relatively respectable players (in the South) like VRL, KPN, Durgamba, Kallada, etc too are doing quite the same.

MK: The issue is too fundamental and serious to be compartmentalized into private and public enterprises or interests.

Me: In fact, this is the essence of the issue. And, that's how the government mafia has kept the reputed private players out, in order to perpetuate their vested interests. Comments like this only tend to obfuscate the issue, and perpetuate the status quo.

"The large majority of people in cities use public transport; we have contributed to public transport policies for several cities including Kolkata and Delhi" - quote from Ms Medha Patkar (AAP's candidate for South Mumbai in the forthcoming parliamentary elections) in an interview given to ToI (for the full text, click here).

So, is she aware of how the archaic Contract Carriage Act and Stage Carriage Act have been used by the state governments in the South to keep respectable bus transport players like VRL, KPN, Durgamba, etc on tenterhooks (and the likes of TVS totally away), and bring in just mafiosos of the likes of Ponty Chaddha in Delhi, even as the largely monopoly government operators are unable to meet the ever growing demand? If she is aware, then she is party to such retrograde policies, and therefore not deserving of the votes of the suffering commuters. If she's not aware, then that's not good enough. But, at least if she commits to make the necessary changes, may be she deserves support.

Bus transport service is a key infrastructure sector, and the country can no longer afford to have the public sector monopolies messing it up the way they have been all these years, affecting the aam aadmi the most

About a week after I logged in the post of 16th Jan (above), the CEO of an online bus ticket booking agency called me to say that he (as also the bus operators) was in serious trouble because of his "ticketing", being noted by the Transport Commissioner (particularly of AP), as a transgression of the Contract Carriage Act, under which these buses have been licensed to operate. He wanted to know what the solutions could be.

I very plainly told him that, since hold up of the operations are too expensive to afford, the immediate solution lay in organising the operators to collect a few bagfulls of currency and striking a deal with the Transport Commissioner. And, as for a long term solution, I suggested that he and the operators back this petition (and the PIL threreof) of mine.

I didn't hear from him thereafter. The buses are back in operation, apparently. So, I conclude he has taken the first part of my suggestion.

The Upa Lokayukta has now taken up a case based on a complaint accusing private operators of violating permit norms and causing huge losses to the KSRTC. The complaint, filed by one Shamanna, alleges that the Transport Department is working hand-in-glove with private transporters.

At the hearing on Monday, KSRTC officials said the Transport Department should take action against private buses which have a contract carriage permit but operate like stage carriages. A contract carriage is supposed to travel from one point to another without any stops, while a stage carriage is meant to travel on a fixed route with fixed stops by collecting fares from passengers.

- - - More than 70 representatives of private operators, including Durgamba, SRS Travels and VRL Travels, through their advocates, submitted that by way of picking up passengers, they were not violating contract carriage permit rules.

 “There were several private transporters who submitted before the Upa Lokayukta. Some of us who run long route night buses submitted that there was no violation by picking up passengers before leaving the starting point in a contract carriage. For example, a Mangalore-bound night buses doesn’t stop anywhere in between after passing Bangalore city and these buses are not boarded by other passengers in between. We are operating just the way KSRTC night buses operate. We will also submit in the next hearing how KSRTC buses ply without any permit,” Sadananda Chatra, General Secretary, Karnataka State Tourist Bus Operators Association, told Express.     

For the full text of the report in the New Indian Express, click here.

The complainant, Mr Shamanna, is probably making a genuine point. But, what he doesn't seem to appreciate is that far more revenue is being lost through pilferages, and other corrupt practices, inevitable in a government operation, a monopoly at that.

As such, Mr Shamanna would do well to bother with what is in the best interest of the consumer. Looking from that perspective, the question that needs to raised is why should the government be constraining the private operations, through use of archaic acts, when its monopoly operators cannot meet the ever growing demand. Equally important - why should there be monopolies in today's world?
 

@ Naveen - Why do private operators always choose 'contract carriage' license when most of them operate as 'stage carriers'? Why cannot they opt for 'stage carrier' licenses & operate buses legally in line with existing laws?

Simply because the government does not issue licenses, as territories other than South Kanara, a few other adjoining areas, and some specified routes, are declared as monopoly areas reserved for government operators.

My own application was rejected on the above basis, and I was instead offered license for contract carriage operation. When I declined, and was leaving the office (Office of the Transport Commissioner), an official followed me outside to say that I could take the license as contract carriage, and operate as stage carriage, like everyone else is doing.

If the government is issuing stage carriage licenses, there is no debate at all.

Are you sure that a 'stage carrier' application for inter-city services will be declined by govt? Why do they have the 'stage carrier' provision for private operators at all if they do not issue them?

I called up RTO Tumkur (0816-2278473), Chamarajanagara (08226-222444), Mandya (08232-220031), and got uniform responses that issual of Stage Carriage permit for operations within their jurisdictions involves an elaborate procedure of application, survey, calling for objections from current licence holders (SRTC largely), etc, so much so, not a single new operator has come into the picture in the last five years at least. The Chamarajanagara Supdt told me categorically that there are no private operators in his area presently (it's all SRTC), while Mandya official (who picked up the phone) said that there are enough operators in his area, and fresh permits are difficult to come by. The Tumkur supdt also talked about procedures, and when asked if any fresh permits had been issued in the recent past, he was vague, and said that such info cannot be furnished on phone.

All of them suggested applying for Contract Carriage permit, but from Bangalore.

An indication of the licence-permit raaj is available from a reading of the following section from the Karnataka M V Act (accessible here)

"59. Refusal to accept application for permits.-Where the State Government by notification in the official Gazette has directed the Transport Authorities to limit the number of stage carriages generally or of any specified type under sub-section (3) of Section 71, sub-section (3) of sec-granted in any specified route and has actually  grated permits equal to the maximum number of vehicles of any class, in such area or as the case may be, on such route, the Regional Transport Authority shall notify this fact on the notice board of its office and may decline to receive area or on the route aforesaid."

Before that, I repeatedly tried the Transport Department (Bangalore) phones. But, not one of the many listed was picked up.

Archaic laws

Any law that had its origins on the basis of assumptions which are not relevant today, and in addition obstructs provision of good services to the public, would fall into this category.

Also, you haven't provided a shred of evidence re. your claim that "far more revenue was being lost through pilferages, and other corrupt practices".

Do you want to ask SB, and 135 others who have 'liked' this post, and commented on it widely too, evidence for their statements? There are plenty more all over Praja.

Now, Mr Naveen, please understand that  there is a general consensus amongst Prajagalu that the monopoly government operators can't meet the demand effectively, and therefore the private players have to come in, sooner the better. However, perhaps what most feel is that my 'aggressive' stance may work in the opposite direction, and, as such, they would like to pursue it through softer ways. However, there is no conflict there whatsoever.

As compared to that, you seem to be on a different track altogether - how best to retain the status quo, even with enough people having effectively countered your views, and not just on this issue.

I try to avoid responding to you. But, even that, you choose to make difficult.

@Naveen

claim that since others liked your post, it must be fact.

The post was by SB, and not by me (I had mentioned this originally too).

Let us try and understand the fundamental differences between our stances. I am for a liberal regime, where both PSU's as well as private players are allowed to operate on a level playing field (it can even be sloped slightly in favour of the PSU's), all overseen by a regulator, whose job will be more to facilitate healthy competition, while keeping consumer interest foremost, than exercising unnecessary and debilitating controls. As compared to that, apparently out of some fear psychosis you seem to have developed about private players in Mangalore, you want perpetuation of a "nanny" state, controlling everything about the bus services, without bothering to appreciate the fact that it is this nanny approach of the state that has been responsible for all the ills of the Mangalore operations. It is to their credit that, inspite of it all, they provide largely better services than the PSU operators.

The talk by Mr J P Gupta, IAS, Commissioner for Transport, Govt of Gujarat, in the opening session, was the highlight of the event as far as I was concerned. He stated that the biggest problem facing the bus transport servivces sector was the messed up licensing and regulatory regime prevailing in the country. Elaborating further, he stated that over 80% of the buses operated by the private players (almost across the country) are licensed as "contract carriages", whereas they operate as "stage carriages" in open violation of the relevant rules. And, it is not as if the government operators can meet the demand if the private players are not there. Very clearly, therefore, there is a dire need to review the entire licensing regime in order to attract good players into the field, and thereby improve the overall quality of services.

The above excerpts are from my report on ConnectKaro event held in March this year in the city (full report may be accessed here). I had mailed the text to Mr Gupta, and got his OK before posting it. Well, when you have earlier said that the Principal Secretary, Karnataka, was talking nonsense, as also the Karnataka High Court judges, I wouldn't be surprised if you continue in the same obstinate vein about Mr Gupta too. God bless you!

PS: Atal Saarige was another of the many gimmicks that the BMTC came up with during the BJP regime, and which they folded up after it had served its limited purpose of getting them some publicity mileage.