Private buses out to make a fast buck

KOCHI: In what could be seen as a money-making ploy, a number of private buses operating under the label of ‘Ordinary’ along the Ernakulam-Guruvayur route are being converted into ‘Fast Passengers’ overnight. Many ordinary buses, which travel only 90 km in the Guruvayur-Ernakulam route, have been spotted running with the ‘Fast Passenger’ tag, when it is mandatory only for buses travelling beyond 140 km to be converted into Fast Passengers. “At present, there are 40 ordinary buses plying in the Guruvayur-Ernakulam route which have been converted into Fast Passengers,” M B Sathyan, a private bus owner, said.  But the RTO denies that a large number of ordinary buses are being converted to Fast-Passengers.“To the best of my knowledge, there are not  many buses running along the route with a Fast Passenger label. If they do, it should be with the sanction of the Road Transport Authority, comprising the Deputy Collector and the SP,” RTO T J Thomas said.  However, there is an exception to the rule, which states that buses that ply beyond 70 km can also apply to the RTA if they want to be converted into ‘Fast Passengers’. “The RTA would have permitted these buses to run as Fast Passengers. However, not many petitions would have been filed because most private bus owners would not prefer their buses being converted into Fast Passengers,” the officials said. Moreover, not many bus owners want their vehicles be converted as Fast Passengers as they would have to raise the travel fare by at least Rs 4.  On the other hand bus owners admit that if the RTA grants them  permission it would benefit them to large extent. Converting Ordinary buses into Fast Passengers is beneficial for the bus owners as well as the passengers. “For the bus owners it would mean a decrease in the running rate and for the public it would mean reaching the destination as early as possible,” they said. They added that the RTA would not give permission to all buses that run more than 70 km, citing one or the other reason. “Once these buses are converted into Fast Passengers, the school students would be the worst affected as Fast Passengers cannot provide concession to students,” K Anoop, a bus owner said. But some others oppose the argument. “Why should they travel in long-distance buses when they can travel in the local ones?” Sathyan asks.