Soon, drive against private buses ‘identical’ to UPSRTC buses

LUCKNOW: A drive against private buses that are ‘lookalikes’ of Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses will soon be initiated in the state capital.

District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma has ordered the regional transport office (RTO) to lodge FIRs against owners of such private buses.

The administration’s move is an outcome of frequent complaints by passengers against private bus operators.

A senior administrative official said, “Private buses do not abide by the rules and regulations (that govern UPSRTC buses). They are also not answerable to the authorities too. So, many times, there have been reports of passengers being manhandled or forced to de-board on highways. Besides, there are security concerns.”

In a meeting with RTO and UPSRTC officials, SP traffic and officers of other departments concerned, the district magistrate said that FIRs should be lodge against owners of private vehicles that dupe customers.

He said that according to a report of the RTO, there were around 25 buses that were plying on city roads, bearing stickers identical to those on UPSRTC buses.

“These buses remain parked outside the bus station and operate from there. This causes confusion among passenger and they end up boarding the wrong bus,” said Sharma.

He said that a team, headed by the RTO, would now keep track of such buses. Any bus caught trying to dupe passengers by posing as a state-run bus would be seized immediately and an FIR would be lodged against its owners.

At the same meeting, the DM also discussed the issue of traffic jams near the Charbagh bus station. He said that officials had been asked to ensure smooth traffic movement near the bus station.