Ooty: The Coonoor Consumer Protection Association (CCPA) has the moved Madras High Court, seeking action against the State-run TNSTC administration in Nilgiris for its alleged continuous indulgence in unfair trade practice, there by fleecing passengers.
S. Manogaran, president of the CCPA, said that the state-owned TNSTC buses continue to collect excess fare in certain routes in the guise of operating “express” category buses though the regional transport officer in Nilgiris already made it clear that no TNSTC bus in Nilgiris was permitted to run under “express” as the norms for “express” category did not fit to buses being operated in Nilgiris.
After the new bus fares were introduced in January 2018, the minimum fare fixed for ghat roads is Rs 7. But, unfortunately, the TNSTC in Nilgiris began to collect `11 as minimum fare in the name of “express” fare. Besides that, TNSTC-Nilgiris administration took to running the buses with ‘express fares’ at their will. Earlier replying to an RTI application, the RTO in Nilgiris had said that the TNSTC indulged in excess fair collection in about 49 buses in the past.
Though the state consumer redressal forum instructed the TNSTC to display bus fares in the buses, they failed to comply with that order and continue to collect excess fares. Hence, the present petition in the High court.
