Government nod pending, Volvos resting

Though the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is currently vying to

introduce eight brand new low-floor AC buses in the state, including three for

Kochi, the government is yet to give its clearance to roll out the services.According

to sources with the KSRTC, the brand new buses have been lying at the Thrivunanthapuram

KSRTC headquarters for more than one month. However, governmental anomalies

have led to the delay in rolling out these services, which have been

specifically meant for the state capital and Ernakulam.“We

had sent the application to the Transport Department on July 15 seeking their

permission to run the Volvo buses. In spite of constant reminders to the

Commissioner’s office and the other authorities concerned, not a single paper

work has been started. The lackadaisical attitude of the government is killing

the KSRTC sector in a huge way,” said a highly placed KSRTC official in Thiruvananthapuram.The

eight buses were handed over to the KSRTC by VISTA, the company which rolls out

low-floor buses throughout the country, more than a month ago. According to

officials, it is only in Kerala that such a delay crops up in rolling out

transport buses. “In places like Hyderabad and Bangalore, most of these Volvo

buses had hit the roads immediately after their arrival. In Kerala, it takes at

least three or four months,” the official said.Meanwhile,

the Motor Vehicles Department officials cite that the Volvo buses do not fulfil

many of the specifications of the MVD Act and that is why a huge amount of time

is needed to exempt these specifications to run the buses.

“A Volvo bus which is of an international make

does not follow the MVD rules, like sufficient space between hand grills etc. Also,

there is a huge difference in the build of the seats. It takes quite a lot of

paper works to exempt the Volvo buses from the rules. However, the clearance of

these buses is usually given soon,” said Alex Paul, Joint Transport Commissioner,

MVD.

Even though the technical delay is a practical reason, experts in the field

feel that the buses can be rolled out within at least a month, contrary to the

three-four months the government takes.