Private bus operators in Punjab, including the Badals, may run into financial troubles with the Congress Government’s “new” transport policy all set to apply brakes on the “current monopolistic control” on the sector.
Announcing to bring out its new transport policy in the next two weeks, Punjab Government on Wednesday decided to review the inter-State reciprocal agreement with Chandigarh under which integral luxury coaches — of the Badal family transport companies — run between the State headquarters and different parts of Punjab.
The Government has also decided to review the tax structure of the previous SAD-BJP Government, under which the integral coaches paid less tax compared to the State transport undertaking buses.
The State Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said the tax structure will be rationalised to “prevent loot by the powerful private transport lobby”.
Besides, the State transport undertaking will also add more buses in the high-end integral coaches category.
The decisions were taken by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh during a review meeting of the transport department where he suggested a slew of measures to overhaul the “ailing” transport system in the State, and “unshackle the public transport system from its current monopolistic control”.
The official spokesperson said that a new transport policy is expected to be announced within two weeks. “The policy will have several measures to unshackle the public transport system from its current monopolistic control,” said the spokesperson.
In Punjab, private players have a significant presence in the transport sector. The Badal family, which ruled Punjab before the Congress came to power, are learnt to be among the top private players in the transport sector.
In the meeting, Capt Amarinder suggested several measures including the restructuring of the 22 district transport offices (DTOs) and ushering in a transparent system of permit allotment.
The four regional transport authority (RTA) offices at Patiala, Jalandhar, Ferozepur and Bathinda will also be restructured to make functioning hassle-free.
The new transport policy will be drafted through consultations among stakeholders and will seek to create a level playing field for private players while facilitating unemployed youth.
The new policy has to be framed by May 15 as directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and will affect 750 private bus route permits, 1,840 extensions beyond 24-km of original routes and 6,700 mini bus permits.
The CM directed the department officials to professionalise the registration as well as licence issuance and renewal services, apart from making the motor vehicle authorities more accountable by bringing them under the ambit of the sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs).
To streamline the licencing system, Capt Amarinder asked the department to expedite the process of digitisation of licences and to examine the prospects of outsourcing driving tests.
The officials informed that the web-based applications are ready with NIC as SAARTHI for driving licences and VAAHAN for registration and would become operational soon, said the spokesperson.
Tariff and route rationalisation will also be undertaken on priority basis. The department was also directed to upgrade the buses to provide a comfortable travel option to the commuters.
The State Finance Minister Manpreet Badal suggested the introduction of a fleet of integrated coaches of elite buses to be operated on premier inter-city roads “to end the monopoly of private operators” on these routes. He suggested CCTV cameras in buses for travel safety.
Manpreet alo expressed concern at the disparity in registration fee between Punjab and neighbouring States, causing private vehicle owners to opt for registration of their vehicles in other States.
Officials informed him that the disparity will be reduced once GST comes into force.
In line with the Congress manifesto, it was decided that the transport department will provide one lakh taxis, light commercial vehicles, etc, every year to the unemployed youth at subsidized rates.
Under the “Apni Gaddi, Apna Rozgar” scheme, the State Government will stand guarantee and no collateral would be required for the loan, which the youth would need to repay in five years. The department will tie up with major taxi operators such as Ola, Uber etc for the implementation of
the scheme.
It was decided that the department will also subsidise and incentivise youth entrepreneurs under the ‘Yaari Enterprises’ scheme to create employment through small enterprises promoted by two or more youth.
The meeting also discussed issues relating to road safety, road infrastructure and enforcement of traffic rules and regulations.
The department officials revealed that the revenue growth in the State’s transport sector in the past five-seven years had been around seven-eight percent with a revenue collection of Rs 873 crore from commercial vehicles and Rs 676 crore from personal light vehicles during fiscal 2016-17.