Latest news with #Mallad
The Hindu
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Mangaluru: Private bus operators warned of permit cancellation if found flouting norms
Senior Regional Transport Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Transport (DCT), Mangaluru, Shridhar K. Mallad, on Monday, cautioned private bus operators of stringent action if they do not issue tickets, violate permit conditions and skip trips. Chairing the Sarige Adalat here, Mr. Mallad said, 'I travel in city buses twice or thrice a week and issue challans to conductors if they do not issue tickets. The Mangaluru Regional Transport Office is facing a shortage of personnel and, hence, I, myself, have been conducting enforcement activities,' the DCT said. His response came after activist Gerard Towers asked, 'If I die in a road accident while travelling in a bus without being issued a ticket for the fare paid, how will my wife get the compensation?' City bus operators particularly violate the provisions of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act by not issuing tickets, he charged. Mr. Mallad also said a penalty would be imposed for deviating from permitted routes and skipping trips. If the operators were found to be flouting the rule regularly, route permits would be cancelled, he cautioned. Responding to the demand made by social activist G.K. Bhat to introduce more city buses to Padil, where the new District Office Complex has come up, Mr. Mallad said buses coming from Moodbidri would be rerouted to ply via Padil. Buses with permits to ply to Kankanadi and Mallikatte too would be diverted to go via Padil and Mangaluru Junction Railway Station. He asked KSRTC to apply for new permits to operate services connecting Padil. Social activist G. Hanumanth Kamath complained of private city bus crew not issuing tickets, stopping buses all along the route, disturbing the traffic and of the lack of enforcement by the Transport Department to penalise the erring operators. KSRTC buses to Akasha BHavana Chudamani, secretary of Mangalore Citizen Association, complained of private operators putting a spoke in KSRTC's proposal to operate a city bus service between the State Bank bus terminal and Akasha Bhavana. Over 3,000 women reside in the Akasha Bhavana area, who would have benefited from KSRTC's Shakti, free travel for women scheme had there been bus services to the area, she said. Dinesh Kumpala complained about the irregular operation of private and KSRTC city bus services between Kumpala and the State Bank bus terminal. Mr. Bhat regretted that city buses do not stop at designated bus stops and instead stop at other places. In response to his complaint about the non-utilisation of the new Mangaladevi Bus Terminal, Mr. Mallad said he, along with traffic police officers, recently conducted a route survey and that the bus terminal would be put to use soon. The DCT also said prepaid autorickshaw counters at Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction would soon be taken over by the government for operation.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- The Hindu
City buses in Mangaluru begin installing dashboard cameras
As a precautionary measure to provide evidence in case of accidents or any traffic violations, private bus operators in Mangaluru have begun installing dashboard cameras in city buses. In all, 30 of the 300 city buses have installed dashboard cameras in the last six months. The dashboard cameras have been installed in addition to surveillance cameras fixed inside the buses. In addition to city buses, 50 private express buses plying between Mangaluru and Udupi, Kundapura and Kollur have also installed dashboard cameras. Shridhar Mallad, Regional Transport Officer, Mangaluru, and member secretary of Dakshina Kannada District Road Transport Authority, said installation of surveillance camera facing commuters began after the department made it mandatory for all goods and public vehicles to install vehicle tracking devices and panic button for the safety of passengers. The dashboard camera helps operators to provide the police videos and photographs in case of accidents and other traffic offences as evidence, which is now a mandatory requirement under the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Mr. Mallad said. An executive of Chalo Mobility Private Limited, which has tied up with Dakshina Kannada Bus Owners' Association for installing GPS devices, surveillance cameras and providing mobility solutions, said installation of dashboard cameras started six months ago with a fleet of buses of Anthony Motors that operates on Route No.15. 'After knowing its advantage, other bus operators are installing dashboard cameras,' the Chalo executive said. In addition to providing evidence for traffic offences, the footage of the surveillance camera and the dashboard camera will help owners to have realistic information about movement of their buses, the number of commuters who have travelled in the bus and about brawls, if any, involving the bus crew, the Chalo executive said.
