The Hindu : Speed governors upsetting KSRTC schedule

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 02, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Speed governors upsetting KSRTC schedule

By S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, ARPIL 1 . The longer time taken by long-distance buses fitted with speed governors to reach their destinations is turning out to be a matter of concern for the KSRTC. The speed governors, fitted in buses on the directive of the Motor Vehicles Department, prevent the driver from going beyond 60 km per hour even if the road is clear.

A long-distance bus of the KSRTC equipped with the gadget takes an additional hour now on the average to reach its destination. Long-distance commuters who travel by KSRTC buses are now opting for other means of transport such as private buses and trains, which can cover the distance in less time, it is pointed out.

The authorities are worried whether the extra time taken by the buses to cover the distance would affect the daily collection.

Private bus operators in the State are up in arms against installing speed governors citing its drawbacks. The Managing Director of the KSRTC, C. Appukuttan Nair, said it had come to the notice of the corporation that buses equipped with speed governors took more time to cover the distance. "With the installation of the gadgets, the drivers cannot make up lost time due to traffic snarls and agitations by increasing the speed as before. As a result, buses do not reach the destination at the scheduled time," he said.

The KSRTC has initiated steps to install the gadgets in all the 4,366 buses. In the first phase, the corporation would provide the gadget in 800 buses of the super class category. Mr. Nair said the gadgets, each costing Rs. 16,000, have already been installed in 670 buses that fall in the Volvo, Deluxe, Superfast and Fast Passenger categories.

The gadget has been approved by the Pune-based Automotive Research Association of India. As per the rule being enforced by the Motor Vehicles Department on the basis of a High Court order in October, the speed-governors have to be installed in 20,000-odd stage carriers, 75,000 - odd trucks and 4,366 KSRTC buses plying in the State.

The former president of the Kerala State Private Bus Operators Federation, V.J. Sebastian, says there is no need for speed governors as the Motor Vehicles Department has specified the speed for various zones. The gadgets had not been made compulsory in any State and the decision has been taken without taking into account the realities, he alleged.

"What is the need to install a machine by spending more than Rs. 15,000 for a private bus operating in the city when the speed limit if fixed at 35 km per hour?'' he asks. The fuel efficiency cited is also not convincing as accelerating beyond a limit burns more fuel. The problem can be overcome by streamlining the running time and enforcing strict implementation of the speed limit for buses and heavy transport vehicles.

Mr. Sebastian said the department had not spelt out what action it would take in the case of buses and heavy transport vehicles coming from adjoining States. Already, many trucks owned by those hailing from the State had been registered in the North-Eastern States, especially Nagaland.

The Secretary of the State Transport Authority, Alex Paul, said the State Government did not have powers to intervene as the maximum speed limit for various class of vehicles were fixed by the Central Government as per the S.O 425(E) of June 9, 1989. The State Government, through a notification in 1996, had fixed the maximum speed limit for buses and heavy transport vehicles at 60 km per hour, 15 km per hour in school zones, 35 km per hour in the Ghat, city corporation and municipal corporation limits. According to him, installation of the gadgets was being insisted upon by the department in new vehicles that were registered and those brought for re-registration.

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