MV Act amended to allow STC to hire private vehicles

A government-issued order by the Home department said that the motor vehicles rules have been amended by the insertion of a Rule 288A stating that in the case where an emergency arises that a State Transport undertaking cannot procure its own vehicle to run its service in the nationalised route, it could run any private vehicle taken on hire on payment of fixed hire charges duly obtaining a permit for such vehicle. The State government order has come in the wake of no objection received for the draft amendment to the motor vehicles in January.

The government move to amend the rules comes in the wake of the social distancing norms limiting the number of persons travelling in a bus at a time. The amendment might help the transport corporation to run private buses on nationalised routes, including in Chennai, considering the shortage of buses. At present, the State government has cancelled the bus services across the State till August 31 as part of the lockdown restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Moreover, State Transport Corporations has planned to operate electric buses on hire charges basis considering the huge capital investment.

DMK-affiliated Labour Progressive Front treasurer K Natarajan wondered what was the need to hire private vehicles when over 18,000 buses were not operated. “The State government is following the centre’s diktats to privatise transport corporation. The government should take steps to protect public transportation,” he said.

CITU’s transport union leader Chandran said that now the transport corporation buses were being operated in all the routes without profit motive. “If the private buses were allowed to operate in the nationalised routes, they will operate only in the profitable routes and the ticket fares might also be hiked. It will only affect the public,” he added.