KOLKATA: Transport operators on Monday met transport minister Firhad Hakim to seek a reconsideration of at least three of the enhanced traffic violation fines, which are threatening their survival.
Nearly 1,500 buses, having no valid certificate of fitness (CF), have gone off the roads fearing a fine of Rs 10,000.
Transport minister assured the operators that he would meet both transport department officers and traffic cops from Kolkata, Howrah and Bidhannagar to assess the situation and bring about some moderation in charging fines against public transport.
The public transport operators, under Joint Forum of Transport Operators, sent an SOS message to the minister in view of the enhanced fine against traffic rule violations.
“We found four enhanced fines of four categories of offences that caused our existential crisis. We flagged them to the minister and he assured us of bringing about some moderation. Moreover, he promised us that he would consider waiving off fines that we have incurred for non-renewal of the fitness certificates,” said Tito Saha, secretary of Suburban Bus Services.
“A lot of app-cab operators have stopped plying cabs since they don’t want to pay the enhanced fines. Most of the cab operators are finding it difficult to survive because of the low passenger demand due to Covid restrictions for the last two years. The enhanced fines have only added to their woes. Most of the drivers don’t get notifications on their phones against the pollution test failures by the automatic machines. They face huge burden of penalty at the time of CF or permit renewal,” said Indranil Banerjee of Online Cab Operators Guild.
The transport minister has agreed to impose Rs 1,500 one-time fine against non-renewal of CF. Non-renewal of CF incurs Rs 50 per day per vehicle. So, it would be Rs 40,000 per bus, which is impossible for an operator to pay right now.
To make a bus ready for CF also requires an expenditure of Rs 40,000 per bus. The transport minister has taken up the issue, said Rahul Chatterjee of Bus O minibus Samannay Samity.
