KOCHI: A complaint may be dealt with as an individual case. But what happens when the same bus or crew keeps appearing in police records? Kochi commuters want authorities to have a system that recognises such patterns and triggers closer scrutiny before another incident occurs.
The question has resurfaced after the Ernakulam Central police registered a case on September 27 following a complaint by a 59-year-old woman who was injured while boarding a private bus at the St Teresa’s College bus stop on August 31.
According to her statement, the driver allegedly moved the bus before she could fully board it. As the door was allegedly closed, she lost her balance and her left hand became trapped, causing fractures to her fingers and injuries to her palm.
What adds significance to the latest case is the vehicle’s previous enforcement history. According to police records, around 200 traffic violations were pending against the bus.
For commuters, the issue is therefore not limited to the latest incident. They want authorities to have a mechanism to identify vehicles and crews repeatedly figuring in complaints and cases and subject them to closer scrutiny.
“Identification cards may help identify the crew, but passengers want action against buses that repeatedly violate rules. If the same vehicle keeps figuring in cases, there should be a system to flag it for closer scrutiny,” said Suresh Nair, a commuter from Edappally.
The demand comes amid a series of complaints involving private-bus crews in Kochi, including allegations of rash driving, road rage and assaults. Residents, however, said the number of cases alone should not automatically determine action.
“Nobody is asking the authorities to act merely because a complaint has been filed. But when a bus accumulates dozens of cases, that pattern itself should trigger an examination of its record and the conduct of its crew,” said Gopikrishnan M N, a resident of Vyttila.
A senior police officer said the issue was not confined to any particular bus and that several private buses had figured in multiple cases. The police have been strengthening enforcement and monitoring, the officer said.
For passengers, however, there is little visibility into a bus’s enforcement history.
“For passengers, every journey begins with the assumption that the bus is safe. If the authorities know that certain buses repeatedly figure in cases, they should ensure closer monitoring of those vehicles. A scrutiny mechanism could bring together information on traffic violations, complaints, pending cases and established offences involving a vehicle or its crew.
It would not treat every complaint as proof of wrongdoing, but could help authorities identify recurring patterns and decide whether closer monitoring, a warning or regulatory action is warranted,” said Sheethal George, a passenger from Tripunithura.
The September 27 case has therefore raised a question beyond the individual complaint: whether information already available in police and transport records can be converted into an early-warning mechanism. Senior police officers said they would consider it.
For commuters, the expectation is not that every complaint should trigger punitive action. It is that when the same vehicle or crew repeatedly appears in official records, the pattern should be visible to authorities before the next incident becomes another case or attracts public attention.
MVD cracks down on private buses in Tripunithura; action against 46 buses
Kochi: The motor vehicles department (MVD) conducted a special inspection against private stage carriage buses on the Tripunithura-Puthencruz route following complaints of speeding and racing, among other violations.
The inspection, carried out under the leadership of the Enforcement RTO, detected several serious violations including driving without a valid licence, operating services without paying tax and running services without valid permits. Officials also found buses operating with their door shutters open, using music systems, employing conductors without valid conductor licences and engaging staff without the required police clearance.
Action was taken against 46 buses and fines totalling Rs 80,000 were collected during the inspection. The Enforcement RTO said strict action would be taken against violations that pose a threat to passenger safety. Inspections will also be intensified in the coming days, particularly against speeding and racing by private buses.