Chennai: In a complete violation of rules laid down by the transport department and defying safety norms, omnibus operators ply their vehicles as courier services. From washing machines, medicines to even motorcycles, all kinds of goods, including inflammable material, find their way to the storage cabins of the buses which carry passengers to distant locations overnight.
The transport department has been allowing the practice to go unhindered at the largest bus stand in the city despite knowing about it. As the afternoon sets in at the private omnibus stand in Koyambedu, mini vans with loads of boxes of different shapes and sizes enter the congested bus stand.
A bus operator from a well-known bus travels says that they accept parcels within the state but not to other states. He reasons that there is heavy checking on the other side which does not allow parcels or unaccompanied luggage.
Even motorbikes are loaded atop buses, sometimes below the deck. An agent adds, “Rates for carrying a bike depends on the distance and starts at a minimum of ' 1,400. We insist on emptying the tank and removing battery.”
According to motor vehicles Act, the buses are supposed to carry luggage of the passengers alone and the rest are classified as unauthorised goods. But, for tour operators, parcel service is more profitable than carrying passengers.
The passengers are often unaware of the goods being carried by the bus they are travelling in. Nearly 350 buses enter the stand every day - most of them carrying goods. Since there is no effective mechanism to screen parcels, often inflammable material that are banned from transport in ordinary vehicles for safety reasons, are loaded by these bus operators.
Insiders say that an understanding between the operators and people manning the check-post allows the buses to skip mandatory checking.
Sources with the transport department speak of their inability to check the violations. An official of the transport department says, “There are no stringent provisions to look into the offence. The vehicles can be stopped at check-points and fined but not detained. A check report is issued and the bus moves on.”
