Court notice to private bus for violating rules

Udupi: A video depicting passengers hanging on to the ladder and foot-board of a private bus plying between Udupi-Mangaluru has gone viral on social media.

Almost four days ago, many passengers were seen travelling hanging on to the bus structure and on Sunday, the video went viral on social media.

This particular private bus leaves from Udupi to Mangaluru at 9:35 pm in the night. After this, there is a shuttle (local) bus at 10:15 pm. There are no private buses to Mangaluru from Udupi after 9:35 pm. Since the bus after this bus is a shuttle service, naturally there are more passengers. On the day the incident occurred, the 10:15 bus was cancelled. Hence, the bus left after some delay on that day. Due to this, the drivers and conductors of buses plying to Udyavara, Katapadi and other areas traveled on this bus by hanging on to its foot-board and the ladder at its rear, inform sources.

“We had not expected such a situation in Udupi,” say sources from the RTO.

The video has come to my notice. Motor Vehicle Act has been implemented giving importance to the safety of the passengers. Vehicles cannot be jam packed with people. Those who violate this rule have to pay a hefty fine – Shridhar Rao, RTO Assistant Officer

Court notice was sent to the bus owner on Wednesday. There is no clear information regarding when this incident took place. Legal action has been initiated since rule violation has been noticed. The bus owner has been warned to not to repeat such an incident – Nisha James, SP

The bus conductor has informed that for now, the bus has been seized by the cops.

Lack of buses during the night

There are close to 8 express buses between Udupi and Mangaluru from 8:45 pm till 9:35 pm in the night. There is a private local bus at 10:15 pm. Excluding these, there are no other private bus services. Meanwhile, there are altogether 6 KSRTC buses that ply from Mangaluru to Bengaluru via Udupi route from 8:20 pm to 9:45 pm in the night. Besides, buses travelling towards Mangaluru from Kundapur, Uttara Kannada district also exist. Hence, the passengers feel that provision of a few stops for the government buses, between Udupi – Mangaluru would become immensely helpful for the public.