CHENNAI: In the wake of repeated complaints that buses are stopped at undesignated motels on highways that fleece travellers, the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC), the nodal body for selecting motels for government buses, recently issued an order stating that buses should only stop at designated motels on the left side of the highway. The order applies to buses of the SETC and six TNSTC corporations.
“The aim is to prevent accidents and unauthorised halting of buses by the crew,” K Elangovan, managing director, SETC, told TNIE. The SETC chooses motels on highways for every bus through tenders. A contractor charges Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,950 per bus per month, and the amount varies based on the number of travellers.
Buses can only be halted for food at designated motels when the journey is longer than three hours in the afternoon or night, and the crew has no role in picking motels, said conductors. For several years, government buses have halted at select motels on the Vellore-Krishnagiri and Chengalpattu-Vikkiravandi section. While heading to Chennai, they would make a right turn to stop at motels, and the recent order was issued to end this unauthorised practice, official sources said.
“We have to get a seal from the motel chosen by the SETC, and in case of any deviation, we would face departmental action. We stop at select motels only when there are no designated motels on the route,”said a conductor of a Chennai-Bengaluru TNSTC bus.
As the SETC didn’t choose motels on a few routes, drivers halted long-distance buses at motels that collect high fares, with some selling biscuits and water bottles at rates 100 per cent more than the MRP.
S Kannan, a passenger, complained that the food at motels where some buses stop is overpriced and of poor quality.
K Elangovan, of the SETC, said the transport minister has asked for designated motels to be inspected every three months. “We have instructed branch managers and others to monitor the motels. Complaints will be looked into seriously.”