RTA Cracks Down on Pvt Buses for Fleecing Hapless Passengers

VIJAYAWADA: Cashing in on the Dasara festival, the private bus operators are collecting double the normal fare for travelling to Vijayawada from various places. With passengers complaining about the shockingly excess fares being charged by the private operators, the regional transport authority (RTA) has inspected and seized the private vehicles in the city.

Vijayawada is the most favoured destination from various cities in Andhra Pradesh.

“We have come from Hyderabad to Vijayawada. Normally, private operators charge about Rs 450 to Rs 500. But I had to shell out Rs1,000 Wednesday. As I had no other option, I had to pay the amount to buy the ticket,” said Ch Manoj, a techie from Suryaraopet who travelled from Hyderabad to Vijayawada.

With private buses charging double the price and complaints flowing from passengers, the RTA has cracked down on private buses across the state over the past two days.

While 30 private buses have been seized for abnormal increase in ticket prices in all the 13 districts, 16 are from the Vijayawada region.

“While five buses have been already seized for violating permit conditions, instructions have been given for 11 bus operators to report to the RTA within two days as we did not want to cause inconvenience to the passengers as they were travelling to far off places like Vizag, Srikakulam and Hyderabad among others. Also, there is a High Court order that vehicles need not be impounded in the middle of journey,” said DTC Ch Shivalingaiah.

Though a few private operators have not increased their fares during the festival season, many private bus operators are virtually minting money. “Not that action is being taken on private operators, they will not collect the extra fare from the passengers. The passengers can travel to their respective destinations buying tickets at normal fares,” said Guntur DTC V Sundar.

In Guntur district, cases were booked against five private buses and orders have been given to stop them from being operated till Saturday. Operators should also report to RTA officials within two days with all the necessary documents.

On the other hand, private bus operators who make a killing during festivals, are worried about losing their business and are requesting the RTA officials to allow them to run buses till the weekend.