Many cases booked against city buses

Mangaluru: The police, in an attempt to take serious action against private city buses have booked at least 171 cases against the private city buses for violations of several clauses of the traffic rules.

Of the cases booked, 71 cases were booked against using of shrill horns, 62 cases we against driver/conductors for failing to wear uniform. As many as 25 cases were booked for not issuing tickets and eight cases for rash and negligent driving. Five more cases were booked for other offences.

The strict action comes from the police after a fortnight after a joint operation with Transport Department to book 34 city buses for using shrill horns. The police registered cases on October 15 and forwarded them for action by the Transport Department under the Motor Vehicles Act as the latter is empowered to impose more fine under the Act.

After booking the cases, the Transport Department issued notices to private bus operators. The private bus owners appeared before the in-charge Senior Regional Transport Officer Joseph Misquith and argued that rules allow use of the horns up to 100 decibels. They also pointed that the department did not have a device to measure sound of the horns used in the city buses.

However, according to the observations of the members of the public, the methodology used seems to have least effect on the violations. They feel that the private bus operators are hardly concerned on the cases booked against them. Hence, the method needs to be modified. The main reason for the violations is the giving away of the contract bus to run on illegal terms to bus crews and the rigid and quirky timing for buses.