Ongoing omnibus strike affects 25K passengers
Operators said services would continue to remain halted until a policy-level solution was offered
Omnibuses parked in a yard at Vanagaram on Monday
CHENNAI: Amid a row over the imposition of steep fines on buses operating with All India Tourist Permits, inter-state omnibus services remained suspended for the third day, even as a delegation of omnibus owners met Transport Minister SS Sivasankar in Ariyalur on Monday.
A Anbalagan, president, All Omni Bus Owners Association, said the delegation submitted concerns regarding the mounting penalties and regulatory hurdles affecting long-distance operations.
The Minister advised them to meet the Transport Commissioner on Tuesday for further consultations, as nearly 670 omnibus services across the southern states remain suspended, affecting 25,000 passengers.
Operators said services would continue to remain halted until a policy-level solution was offered. They warned that escalating taxes and enforcement actions across States had pushed the sector to the brink of financial collapse.
Anbalagan said, “After the Union government introduced the All India Tourist Bus permits in 2021, the State government continued to oppose it even as it gets share from the centre and collected road tax from the omnibuses plying in the state. Since the State government insisted on the AITP buses from Kerala, Karnataka and AP to pay road tax and impose fines on them, the neighbouring states also started imposing the fines on the TN buses.”
According to the association, each inter-state bus pays Rs 1.5 lakh as state road tax per quarter, Rs 90,000 as AITP tax and nearly Rs 2 lakh as road tax to either Kerala or Karnataka. The total quarterly burden of about Rs 4.5 lakh per bus had made operations unsustainable.
Recent fatal accidents involving omnibuses in different parts of the country had triggered disproportionate enforcement measures, including heavy penalties and mass detention of vehicles. Karnataka imposed a road tax of Rs 2 lakh per TN bus and detained more than 40 vehicles. Andhra seized over 100 buses before releasing them after fines. On November 7, Kerala detained more than 100 omnibuses from TN and levied penalties exceeding Rs 70 lakh, forcing nearly half of the 600 inter-state buses to halt operations.
“The absence of a dedicated permit category for omni buses had forced operators to rely on tourist permits, leading to inconsistencies in regulation, taxation and insurance claim settlements,” Anbalagan added.
