THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Compared to a city like Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram has comparatively fewer private operators servicing city bus routes. Still, it has been the long-standing complaint of commuters that they fail to stick to the schedules. Now, the district administration has decided to put an end to that.
The District Development Committee meet chaired by the District Collector K Vasuki has promised stern action against private bus operators who fail to stick to the schedules assigned to them. The matter was raised as a complaint at the meeting. The Regional Transport Officers (RTO) concerned have been instructed to take appropriate action in this regard.
Private bus operators have been accused of having scant regard for the conditions under which they are allowed to operate. A major complaint being that they cut short trips, especially after dark, leaving parts of the city not served by the KSRTC cut off during the late hours. Only recently, the district administration had settled the long-standing dispute between the KSRTC and private bus operators regarding the use of the bus stand at East Fort. Private buses had been instructed not to halt more than three minutes at the stand.
Traffic snarls also featured in the meeting, with complaints being raised regarding the absence of sufficient traffic police at many busy junctions during the peak hours in the morning and evening. The committee decided to deploy more personnel to handle the traffic snarls at Kattakkada, Thirumala and Kundamankadavu.