BENGALURU: Passengers travelling by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses have been banned from playing songs on their mobile speakers.
The transport department issued a directive in this regard following a writ petition filed earlier by an advocate in the Karnataka High Court.
The petition had sought restrictions on "noise disturbance inside buses". It said the use of mobile phones to play songs and videos at high volumes should be restricted.
Taking this matter into consideration, the High Court had said that the bus conductor will first ask the passenger to switch off the phone’s speaker mode. If the passenger does not comply, the driver or conductor may ask the person to alight from the bus. The driver may also halt the bus until the person gets off.
While members of the public appreciated the move and agreed that playing songs or even talking loudly causes a nuisance to fellow passengers and drivers, some urged that this rule should not be used by bus drivers and conductors or fellow passengers to harass travellers.
Apart from the KSRTC and BMTC, the state transport department has also written to the Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation to implement the rule.
The order further states that once such a passenger is deboarded, he/she cannot claim a refund on the bus fare.
KSRTC officials say that awareness will be created regarding the new rule by announcing it on passenger announcement systems at all bus stations and terminals and also on their social media handles.