Errant Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus drivers, who do not halt at the designated bus stops, will have to cough up a hefty penalty up to Rs 10,000. For effective enforcement of the regulation, the department is considering invoking Section 66 of the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act along with Section 192A, which will lead to the impounding of the bus and attract penalty ranging between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for the offence.
The frequent violations may also lead to suspension of bus permits.
According to senior officials with the Transport Department, not stopping at bus stops is a gross violation and with the move the violators won’t be able to get away easily. “Slapping hefty penalties on the offenders is under consideration. Since the permit conditions for State carriage buses require them to stop only at the bus queue shelters, violation to this effect can result in challaning under Section 66 read with Section 192A, wherein the existing fines are up to Rs 5,000 for the first offence or up to Rs 10,000 for the second and subsequent offences. Moreover, the permit of the buses can also be suspended,” said Transport Commissioner, Puneet Goel.
Apart from this, new permit conditions will be attached to the State carriage buses, which include DTC, cluster and privately run buses. “These include that whenever an alternate road parallel to the flyover is available along the allotted route of the bus, the bus should not ply on the flyover. This amendment has been made in the permit condition so that the buses stop within one metre of the kerb of the authorised bus stop. Apart from this, the doors of the moving bus should remain closed while it is moving and should open only at designated bus stops. In case the moving bus has two doors, the driver should ensure that passengers board from the rear door and alight from the front door only,” said Goel.
He added that the violation of this amendment in the existing permit conditions will result in prosecutions under Section 66 read with Section 192A of the MV Act.
The prosecution under these Sections will attract penalties in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000. Apart from this, the department is mulling over the prospect of taking legal action against other private vehicle owners for halting at bus stops or parking their vehicles at bus queue shelters. They can be booked under Section 179 (1) of the MV Act, which will attract a penalty of Rs 500. According to figures available with the Delhi Traffic Police (DTP), total violations committed by DTC buses are 8,590 till August this year.