February 28 deadline for Karnatak-registered buses to meet safety measures

Bengaluru: The Transport Department has set a February 28, 2026, deadline for all buses — both regular and sleeper — registered in Karnataka to comply with safety measures. 

Under Rule 125(C) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, buses must conform to the Automotive Industry Standards, Code of Practice for Bus Body Design and Approval AIS-052/153, and Requirements for Sleeper Coach Buses AIS-119. They also must have public address systems. 

The department has issued the following directives:

The partition door installed behind the driver in all sleeper buses must be removed; 

Sliders fitted to sleeper berths shall be removed; 

All buses registered after April 1, 2019, must be equipped with Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS); 

The transport of commercial goods in passenger buses, including sleeper buses, is strictly prohibited under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988;

The operation of buses constructed through unauthorised extension of chassis shall be discontinued with immediate effect; 

Every bus must display a design layout drawing, clearly indicating emergency exists, the location of fire extinguishers and roof hatches, in a place easily visible and readable to passengers; 

As per AIS:119, buses up to 12 metres in length must have at least four emergency exits while those longer than 12 metres must have at least five; 

In buses constructed with body structure conforming to AIS:052 and 119, roof-mounted luggage carriers and ladders must be removed; 

All sleeper buses must be fitted with fire extinguishers of at least 10 kg; 

Bus body-building agencies must possess valid certificates under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, and only vehicles manufactured by such certified agencies will be registered; 

Vehicles shall be registered only after verification of certificate forms 22 and 22A issued by approved testing agencies.  

Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety AM Yogeesh stated that vehicle owners who fail to comply with these directions will face strict action under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act and the rules framed thereunder. 

The directive came after a series of fatal accidents involving private buses. 

On October 24, 2025, a Bengaluru-Hyderabad V Kaveri Travels AC sleeper bus — originally built as a seater but modified later without proper safety checks — burst into flames near Kurnool, killing 19 passengers.  

The crew were not trained in handling fire incidents and passengers were unaware where the emergency exits were. The bus was also carrying commercial goods in the form of 234 smartphones, whose lithium batteries exploded one after another. 

On December 24, nine passengers were killed when a fuel tanker jumped the divider and rammed into a Bengaluru-Gokarna non-AC sleeper operated by Seabird Travels.