The Hindu

Udupi, Mar 26: While the authorities claim that they have been taking action to curb rash driving by bus drivers in Udupi district, people think otherwise.

Traveling in city buses in Udupi is “almost an adventure” for Muralidhar Upadhya, Kannada Professor at Poornaprajna College. He says, “Bus drivers are so rash that getting in and out of the buses is a problem. They are always in a hurry and do not have time to stop. I am frightened to travel by city buses. The situation is marginally better in private service buses plying between Udupi and Mangalore.”

For senior citizen and convener of Udupi Consumers’ Forum Damodar Aithal, rash driving is a common bane in the district. He says, “Almost all accidents take place owing to rash driving. Both city and service buses ply at high speed.
Private bus drivers compete with one another to take in as many passengers as possible at every stop. When there are no passengers, they don’t even stop at the scheduled stops. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the Police Department have failed to check over-speeding buses. Rash driving has rendered it difficult for pedestrians to walk across the roads.”
Permits

Chairman of Hanuman Transport Company P Rabindra Nayak said reckless issuing of permits after 1990 had given rise to unhealthy competition. “There are too many buses chasing too few routes,” he said.

Regional Transport Officer M P Onkareshwari has a different view. She says, “The roads in the district are narrow and the vehicle density high. Some accidents have occurred when we stopped some buses because the driver applies the brake suddenly. We have been conducting regular workshops for bus drivers where they are taught on maintaining moderate speed. Controlling rash driving has been a continuous process.”

Aithal says, “Mere workshops do not help. What is important is results. The forum submitted a proposal on training bus drivers seven years ago. There is no response from the RTO.”

The “Bus voice” system was launched on November 21, 2007 as a pilot project for some private buses plying on Udupi-Mangalore route. This system tracks buses through GPS. When the buses go beyond the stipulated speed, it gives out a beep sound. The speed of the bus, its route and halts are noted by the system.  Onkareshwari says, “The controversy over installation of speed governors consequent to the order of High Court has slowed down the implementation of ‘Bus voice’. We have taken it up again.”