Mumbai: Beware of 'unfit' private bus for summer vacay

Summer vacation is around the corner and Mumbaikars are booking private buses and tempo travellers to visit nearby hill stations. However, it is safe to check documents before booking a private bus. It has come to the fore that close to 20-22 per cent of these private buses — both AC and non-AC — do not have fitness certificates, which means these buses are not fit to ply on the roads.

There are 13,000 registered private buses and tempo travellers that ply within the city and its metropolitan region. According to members of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana (MBMS), there are over 2,600-2,700 buses that are not fit to run on the roads. From the start of May, the demand for these private buses has been rising. The trend hints at the yearly tradition of thousands of people booking these unfit buses to go on a vacation.

The fact that most private buses do not possess a fitness certificate came to light during the general election in the city. The poll was concluded on April 29 and nearly 1,700 buses were required for the purpose of conducting the election.

"We have been telling the RTOs to speed up the process of issuing fitness certificates to buses. In case of an accident, the government authorities will blame the bus operator for lack of a fitness certificate. But, we have to repay vehicle loans and cannot wait for the RTOs to act," said a tourist bus operator and member of the MBMS.

The average cost of a 45-52 seater AC bus is around 48-50 lakh, while a non-AC one costs Rs 27-30 lakh. As per the Motor Vehicle Rules, fitness certificate for a new vehicle is valid for two years; a commercial vehicle needs to renew it every year and private vehicles should renew it after every 15 years.

Currently, private buses are verified and tested for fitness certificates at Nerul, Kalyan, Taloja, Panvel, and Airoli by officers at the Regional Transport Office (RTO). Sources in the RTO said they have limited manpower and the number of buses has gone up substantially. In 2012-13, the total number of private buses in Mumbai and MMR was close to 6,000. During peak season, close to 1,400 private buses go out of Mumbai to tourist spots like Mahabaleshwar, Lonavala, Alibaug, Matheran and to other spots. During other months, around 800 buses leave the city.

Mumbai prefers AC buses

As per figures maintained by the bus owner association; the number of private AC buses in their fleet has touched 2,500; the number was a mere 300 in 2012-13. "The vacation period is slowly catching up. Already 90 per cent of our AC buses has been booked until June first week. While 45-50 per cent of the non-AC buses are booked for the same period," said Harsh Kotak, general secretary, Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana (MBMS).

People prefer the AC buses – which on a daily average costs Rs 12000 (upto 12 hours) – while a non-AC bus costs Rs 6000 for tourists. Moreover, it has also come to light that Mumbaikars nowadays are asking for the smaller tempo travellers that are between 13-17 seaters. Similarly, the corporates and schools too are preferring AC buses for their employees and students respectively. This, despite the average monthly fees for AC school buses being three times more.