BENGALURU: With buses and maxicabs plying illegally in the city on the rise, the transport department has intensified its crackdown on such vehicles.
Transport Commissioner Rame Gowda told Express, "Certain junctions like Silk Board, Tin Factory and Goraguntepalya need more surveillance to check illegal maxi cabs and buses. Our department has already increased checking of such vehicles."
At a meeting on October 29, Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy discussed the issue of illegal vehicles with the heads of the transport department, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
A BMTC source said the corporation is under pressure after private taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber started operating in the city. Recently, Ola even announced a shuttle service. Beside this, illegal maxicabs and buses are also eating into the corporation's revenue.
Since the drive was launched, around 500 maxicabs and buses have been seized for plying illegally on different routes, putting the commuters at risk by using dark films and curtains in violation of norms.
Rame Gowda said, "The department is serious in curbing the plying of illegal vehicles and we are analysing the statistics available with us. It has been also presented at the review meeting and based on the analysis, we will soon deploy more traffic inspectors and Home Guards at various junctions to check illegal vehicles."
The department can earn a substantial revenue of around `70 crore by the end of the current financial year by intensifying its drive against such vehicles, he added.