KASARAGOD: Hit by mounting losses due to the free-travel scheme for women on KSRTC buses and higher fuel costs, private-bus operators in the state are contemplating filing ‘Form G’ with regional transport offices (RTOs) to claim exemption from road tax by suspending services. Some owners have already filed for relief. The last time bus operators filed Form G en masse was during the Covid lockdown.
Ashok S, who operates buses under the name ‘Sushmitha’ from Kasaragod, has filed Form G for his Kasaragod-Kannur service while keeping his Kollur-Kannur operation running. “I am unable to manage losses on both routes. My Kasaragod-Kannur service was badly affected after June 15.
So, I filed Form G for this route on June 22 for a period of one year,” he said. “Suspending a bus service for even a quarter is a daunting task,” said K Gireesh, Kasaragod district president of the Private Bus Operators Federation. “Vehicles have to be safely secured for the duration, which is nearly impossible for most owners who take to petrol stations and other public spaces to park their buses at night.
It is not easy to access dedicated parking spaces for long periods of time. “We have to furnish even the minutest of details of where the buses are stationed, so as to convince the motor vehicles department that they were not operated during the Form G period,” Gireesh said.
“Then there is the issue of the vehicles developing mechanical and electrical issues from sitting idle. The windshields and glass windows could crack due to heat, while metal parts rust in the rain and cold. “We are caught between a rock and a hard place,” he added.
“Frustration over filing Form G, which is kind of the last resort, is evident across the state,” said T Gopinathan, general secretary of the All Kerala Bus Operators Organisation. “It is a complicated procedure.”
What is Form G?
Operators can file Form G under the Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation Act to claim road-tax exemption on a bus whose service has been suspended
The operator must file it at least 30 days prior to non-operation. A fee of Rs 400 must be paid for a three-month application