The Hindu : Front Page : Efforts to regulate minibus services in the Nilgiris

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Tuesday, Jun 28, 2011
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Efforts to regulate minibus services in the Nilgiris

D. Radhakrishnan

Udhagamandalam: Galvanised into action by three fatal accidents involving mini buses in different parts of the district in just a fortnight, the Nilgiris police and the transport authorities have swung into action and initiated action against erring crew members, particularly in Coonoor.

As part of the crackdown and steps put in place to regulate minibus services, a meeting of police officers and operators of minibuses was held here on Monday.

The Superintendent of Police, the Nilgiris S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar who presided, said that the objective was to make the operators conscious of the fact that the recent deaths were avoidable.

If the drivers had been careful, they could have been averted.

Urging them to realise that apart from being a commercial activity, running buses was a service to the society, he said that the responsibility that goes with the job should not be lost sight of.

Dos and Don'ts

Listing Dos and Don'ts, he said that on no account should the buses be driven after consumption of alcohol.

The drivers should possess licence and should avoid using cellphones while driving. They should not allow themselves to be distracted by any of the passengers and should avoid overloading and over speeding.

To ensure the safety of the passengers doors should be provided to both the exits and conductors should not stand on the footboards.

The crew should be courteous to the passengers and should stop for them without causing any inconvenience to other motorists.

Preference should be given to women, elders and differently abled persons.

Timings should be strictly adhered to and air horns should not be used.

While assuring that they would provide complaint-free service, representatives of the operators said that erring drivers should be pulled up.

At the same time their grievances should also be looked into, they appealed. The Regional Transport Officer, D. Venkataraman said that operators were finding it difficult to get good drivers.

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