ONGOLE: The transport department has launched a special drive to keep a tab on private travel agencies and tour operators, many of whom raise bus fares during the Dasara festival. Two teams of the Transport Department are conducting checks on all irregularities in contract carriage vehicles at Bollapalli Toll Plaza and Tangutur Toll Plaza in Prakasam district.
The teams checked a total of 108 contract carriage bus services and found a total of 15 irregularities and collected Rs 35,000 penalties from them. Recently, the RTO authorities conducted awareness programmes at two institutions, including RTC Driving School and Govt ITI College along with the Gundlapalli Growth Center-Industrial area office.
The officials inquired about the collection of abnormal fares from passengers by some contract carriage bus service owners. Further, the authorities also created awareness on the importance of high-security number plates. “The special raids will continue till October 18,” A Chandra Sekhar Reddy, in charge of DTC told TNIE.