Every public bus must have to display route, time-table and fare chart in a prominent portion inside the fleet. Laminated photos of licenses of both driver and conductor also must be displayed prominently inside it.
Unnecessarily waiting for passengers at any particular stoppage for more than 60 seconds shall be viewed seriously inviting penal action against the operators.
These are some of the guidelines outlined by the transport department.
To enhance safety and security in public transport operation system in the state, a draft standard operating procedure (SOP) guidelines prepared by the state transport department made these recommendations and many others at a time when displaying of fare charts, time table and long waiting for minutes for passengers at stoppages are rigorously violated by drivers and conductors of public buses.
The guidelines were made to sensitise all the stakeholders like passengers, drivers, conductors, pedestrians, owners and operators of public service vehicles to prevent accidents.
Guidelines made specifically for conductors categorically stated that ‘the route, time-table and fare chart of each stage carriage vehicle should be displayed in and on the vehicle and must be strictly followed. (Rule 164 of WBMV).”
“In all the vehicles, the duly-laminated photo copies of the driving and conductor licenses must be displayed at a prominent place inside the vehicle without obstructing the view of the driver and conductor,” according to the guidelines.
“It has also recommended conductors to collect ‘accurate fares, strictly in terms of the fare-chart approved by the competent authority and issue receipts/tickets accordingly,” the draft guidelines said.
The stage-wise fare charge must be explained if any passenger requests for explanation from the conductor, it states.
Fare charts approved by the concerned authority office have been vanishing from the private buses for the past several years, prompting the operators to demand irrational fares from passengers.
Large-scale allegations of demanding exorbitant fares and long waiting for passengers against public buses are regularly brought by commuters who use buses to reach destinations.
Besides private buses, conductors of many AC and non-AC fleets under the West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) are found allegedly not giving tickets to passengers even after taking fares. The practice is rampant in long-distance buses run by the corporation.
Rahul Chatterjee, secretary of the All Bengal Bus Minibus Samannay Samity, said that the SOP guidelines are good for the safety and security of passengers. “The government should also look into basic issues first. It should meet our long-standing demand for fare hike first because it’s difficult to operate buses when fuel prices are increasing alarmingly. For smooth plying of buses there should be adequate road spaces. In districts, roads are encroached with hawkers and mostly unlicensed small slow moving vehicles.”