Criticising the move of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) to penalise the Vikram tempo operators under Section 71 of the Uttarakhand Motor Vehicle Act 2011, president of Vikram Jankalyan Sewa Samiti (VJSS) Satish Sharma stated that as per the norms, this section was applicable only on the Maxi operators, but RTO officials were forcibly imposing it on Vikram tempo operators.
Sharma said that the members of the union had also raised the issue in High Court about a month ago. “We had stated in High Court that the Vikram tempo operators should be allowed to function under the same stage carriage permit which is being applied to the city busses. The High Court has also issued an order in this regard. In the order, it is mentioned that RTO officials should find a solution to this problem after consulting the Vikram tempo union members. As per the order of the High Court decision should be taken considering the welfare of the general public and the Vikram union members,” he added.
Imposing section 71 of the MV Act 2011, RTO officials directed Vikram tempos operators to remove route name and number painted on their vehicles. They are told to keep a log book in their vehicles, follow dress code and function as per the contract permit norms. However, this new rule imposed by the RTO has also generated inconvenience for the commuters who face problems while identifying vehicles meant for the particular routes.
Some Vikram tempo operators, adopting an alternative measure, have painted the route name and number printed on their vehicles with specific colours. The Vikram tempos plying on the ISBT route have painted the route name and number in green colour while those plying on ITBP route have painted their route name and number in red colour.
Sharma alleged that there must be some personal interest hidden behind this decision of the RTO officials or they must be in mood to replace Vikram tempos with some new kind of vehicles. Additional Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Administration, Sandeep Saini said that RTO officials would start acting strictly against the Vikram tempo operators after the lok Sabha elections.
When asked about plans for starting any public transport service from the city to Harrawala, Saini said that RTO would make proper plan for this after the elections. He said that either some new vehicles would be launched or few vehicles would be made operational under the contract permit. Fare for these vehicles would be fixed according to the kilometers (km) covered. For the first km Rs 20 would be charged and for further kms certain fixed amount would be finalised by the RTO officials, he said.
Sharma said that the union members had already submitted routes’ names to the RTO officials, where the new Vikram tempos are to be launched. The final decisions of the RTO officials is still pending.