HYDERABAD: With even public transport difficult to monitor in the absence of CCTV cameras or emergency alarms, the private transport are bound to fare even worse. And in the six years since the horrific Nirbhaya rape case of 2012 which happened to occur on a private vehicle running errands at night dropping passengers for a quick buck, Hyderabad does not seem to have learnt its lesson.
Private buses, hired mainly to ferry employees of private companies and banned from ferrying general public, continue to be the only option for many late-night commuters.
“Often after dropping all employees, the private buses mostly ply empty on the streets till they reach their destination. In between, the driver can pick anybody they want and drop them on the way to make some extra cash,” said Vinod Kumar, Chief Functionary officer, Indian Federation of Road Safey.
Low manpower at the time these offences are carried out makes punishment more difficult. “Moreover the private busses get away with nominal fines,” added Kumar.
Over 800 cases were booked over the last year on this violation -- when Contract carriages run as Stage carriages. That said, the liability of travelling in these convenient means of transport lies entirely on the commuter.
Even in the case of a mishap, the responsibility of safety would possibly end at the drivers’ own discretion, say experts, as mostly the hiring companies only check the designated ‘kilometers’ plied with no responsibility of checking what happens in between.