Ban on new bus permits to stay: Desai
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 13
The private bus operators will now have to wait for few more months, as transport department has decided not to issue new permits for time being.
Director Transport Arun Desai told Herald that department has put a ban on issuing of new permits for private buses awaiting the PWD survey report of existing routes.
“There will be no modification of existing routes and also no addition,” Desai said adding that no new time schedules would be given to the private bus operators.
The department, which is in process of overhauling existing routes feels that allowing new permits would add to the confusion.
The Task Force on transport, chaired by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, had took strong objections to the scores of roadside bus stops and had appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Desai in order to study the traffic flow and the number of bus stops on national highways.
Accordingly, a survey was carried out in November, 2010 which had shocked the department with increasing number of non authorized bus stops along the highways.
The decision was also taken to remove many of these structures, which are useless or erected to give advertising space for corporates. The decision over asphalting of roads was also taken to reduce traffic hindrance. The report has been forwarded to PWD for further estimates.
The department had also written to PWD asking not to allow any more bus stops without prior permission from them.
The department has also undertaken study over the flow of buses in the state. The study will help them to identify the routes with scarcity of buses and also the places where number of buses are more.
