JOIN USCitizens demand bus shelters
Nagarika Hitharakshana Vedike President Hanumantha Kamath has said that with the concreting of the roads, all the bus shelters have disappeared in Mangalore. The work on bus shelter at State Bank area should be taken up on priority basis.
Speaking at transport adalat here on Tuesday, he said the city buses start / end their journey at State Bank. Hence, bus shelters are need of the hour. Bus shelters are constructed in those areas which do not require owing to lobby of the advertisers.
The bus shelters near RTO office should clearly indicate the bus numbers, to help the passengers, he added.
Reacting to it, RTO Mallikarjuna said that he will discuss the issue with Mangalore City Corporation officials.
When Kamath raised the issue of pre paid auto stand in Mangalore Junction railway station, the RTO said that owing to technical glitches, the process is getting delayed. However, the pre paid auto stand will be started soon.
Display registration numbers
The RTO said that all the buses should mandatorily display the registration number inside the bus which could be visible to all the passengers. This will help the passengers to complain to the authorities concerned in case of any loopholes in the system. A sticker with the phone number of the RTO and the police has been pasted near the rear mirror of 180 buses in Mangalore. This is to facilitate the pedestrians or vehicle users to register complaint against rash driving.
Nagarika Samithi, Addur, representative Nooyi Balakrishna Rao said that all the buses should display the helpline and police numbers, to help the passengers to complain in case if they face any kind of harassment in the bus. He urged the RTO to issue permit for the starting of KSRTC buses from Mangalore junction railway station to Bajpe via Bikarnakatte. The minimum bus fare should be Rs 5 instead of Rs 6, to which, the RTO said that bus fares have been revised on the guidelines of the State government.
Mohan Salian said that the RTA had issued permits to operate a bus service from Moodbidri to Kandavara in 1995. The bus had four trips. However, off late the bus has started its operation between Kodyadka and Kaikamba without reaching Kandavara. There is a need for bus facility from Polali to Surathkal via Kaikamba-Adyapadi-Kavoor-Panambur.
Need for auto stands
Dakshina Kannada Auto Drivers Association General Secretary Prakash said that there are shortage of LPG filling stations in Mangalore. There are only four stations in Mangalore. Many of the filling stations do not operate to its full capacity, thus causing inconvenience to the auto drivers.
He said that there are 83 notified auto stands in the MCC limits. “We had given a proposal for the setting up of 300 auto stands in the MCC limits two to three years ago. However, now the proposal is before the MCC. There are over 5,000 autorickshaws in the city limits, he added, to which, the RTO said that the issue will be discussed during Road Safety meeting.
When asked on the subsidy for autorickshaws, the RTO said that 48 applications have been approved and another 48 applications have been forwarded to the government for approval.