Officials of the Road Transport Authority (RTA) have issued a stern warning to private bus operators against fleecing passengers during the festival season by jacking up the ticket fares.
The department personnel have been conducting surprise checks at the main toll plazas, booking cases and collecting fines from the law-violating bus operators across the State.
In NTR district alone, the department personnel have booked cases against 190 private travel buses for violation of the rule book.
Deputy Transport Commissioner (DTC), NTR district, M. Purendra, said the department would initiate stringent action against bus operators plying their vehicles in violation of rules or fleecing the public by charging excess fares.
Citing the festival rush, he said it was not right on the part of the private bus operators to take undue advantage of the people’s need to travel from one place to the other. Informing that the department had constituted 19 special teams to monitor compliance with norms effectively, he said those who failed to do so would attract stringent action. He said some of the buses were also seized.
The violations included failure to pay road taxes, plying vehicles without acquiring permits, loading passenger vehicles with cargo and charging excess amounts from the commuters.
