Bengal private bus operators urge Transport dept to set up grievance cell on VLT devices

The Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) devices had been made mandatory by the state government in all passenger vehicles as per central guidelines for the safety of commuters during travel.

Kolkata: All five private bus operators' associations on Saturday urged the West Bengal Transport department to set up a grievance cell to resolve issues related to maintaining Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) devices installed in commercial vehicles as per government guidelines.

In a letter to Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty, the 'Gana Paribahan Bachao Committee' (save public transport committee) said the operators were promised by the department that the maintenance cost of VLT devices will be between Rs 1,000-1,200 but companies are charging three times of that amount.

The gana paribahan bachao committee consists of Joint Council of Bus Syndicate, West Bengal Bus and Mini Bus Owners' Association, Bengal Bus Syndicate, Mini Bus Operators Co-ordination Committee and InterIntra Region Bus Association.

The VLT devices had been made mandatory by the state government in all passenger vehicles as per central guidelines for the safety of commuters during travel.

"Installation of VLT had been made mandatory by the transport department but we regret that the department and the police could not set up the infrastructure for its proper utility. The operators were forced to install them at a very high price and the renewal rate of the devices was quoted at Rs 3,000-3,500 by the manufacturers," Joint Council of Bus Syndicate general secretary Tapan Banerjee said on Saturday.

"The renewal rate of VLT devices was verbally fixed between Rs 1,000-1,200 at the time of installation during an earlier meeting with transport department at the time of installation but now they are charging between Rs 3,000-3,500 which is unbearable for bus operators," he said.

Banerjee claimed the device has been installed in all 32,000 private buses in the state as per state government guidelines.

"The associations have urged the minister and transport secretary Soumitra Mohan to either intervene for scaling down the rate or exempt vehicles which are nearing 15 years of age," general secretary of West Bengal Bus and Mini Bus Owners Association Pradip Narayan Ghosh said.

He said to address the issue as well as other problems by operators in running their fleet every day, a grievance redressal cell is very much required.

"Along with that we urge the transport department to share toll-free and WhatsApp numbers all over West Bengal for any grievances related to motor vehicles department," Ghosh added.

The bus associations also reiterated their earlier demand to give a two-year window to every stage carriage reaching 15 years and not force the owners to scrap the vehicle after the deadline "considering the operators incurred heavy losses due to Covid situation for two years since 2020." Transport Secretary Soumitra Mohan told PTI, "We are considering all demands of transporters with a sympathetic and humane approach."