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Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Sixty thousand unauthorised school buses in Maharashtra, says association
Mumbai: Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Tuesday told the legislative assembly that the School Bus Association has complained there are a lakh school vans/buses in the state, out of which 40,000 school buses are authorised and 60,000 buses are unauthorised. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Sarnaik said the govt has appointed a one-member committee to amend the school bus regulations. Sarnaik was replying to questions raised by Kashinath Date, Sunil Prabhu, Manoj Jamsutkar, and Rohit Pawar, among others. "In a meeting held on 8 May 2025 with the School Bus Association and Parents Association, the School Bus Association made a complaint in this regard. It is mandatory to carry a vehicle registration certificate, fitness certificate, insurance certificate, licence, air pollution control certificate, driving licence, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, etc, in school vans and buses. The transport commissioner's office has, from time to time, issued instructions to all Regional Transport Offices and Sub-Regional Transport Offices to regularly inspect vehicles transporting students illegally and dangerously," Sarnaik said in his written reply. "From April 2024 to March 2025, the speeding squad of all the Regional Transport Offices and Sub-Regional Transport Offices took action against 7,206 delinquent vehicles and collected a fine of Rs. 4.92 crore," Sarnaik said. School bus operators report that unauthorised vans and private vehicles transporting students with minimal regard for safety protocols or transport regulations have grown to 2.5 times the number of authorised school buses currently operating in Mumbai. The count of regulation-compliant school buses reduced to approximately 6,000 from 8,000 in recent years, while the number of non-compliant vehicles increased to 15,000 in Mumbai.


Time of India
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Vehicle speed governors code issue now resolved
A senior official from the transport commissioner's office on Saturday said all Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Mumbai have the new UIN ( unique identification number ) data for speed governors for commercial vehicles . The same is being updated on the Vahan portal to ensure that annual passing (fitness tests) are carried out smoothly. He was responding to allegations made by city cabbies that due to "high costs" and "harassment" involved in upgrading the speed governor UIN code from 5 digits to 16 digits, there were delays in fitness tests of taxis. TOI reported about commercial vehicle owners, including taxis, approaching the transport department with complaints in the past. The ministry of road transport and highways has instructed manufacturers to modify all codes to 16 digits without charging fees. "Any demand for money or harassment, transporters or bus operators can approach and complain to the transport commissioner," the official from the state transport commissioner's office added.


Hindustan Times
17-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Bengaluru police crack down on drunk driving among school bus drivers, 58 booked, vehicles seized
In a major safety enforcement initiative, the Bengaluru Traffic Police conducted a special drive on Monday morning to check for drunk driving among school vehicle drivers. The three-hour operation, held between 7:00 AM and 10:00 AM, resulted in 58 school drivers being booked for driving under the influence of alcohol. A total of 4,559 school vehicle drivers were tested across the city during the surprise checks. Of those, 58 were found to have consumed alcohol and were immediately prosecuted under the Indian Motor Vehicles (IMV) Act. Also Read - Proud dad Nithin Kamath watches son play mrudanga at Bengaluru temple with grandmother In a stern move, the police also seized the vehicles driven by the offenders and recommended cancellation of their permits to the respective Regional Transport Offices (RTOs). The driving licences of the errant drivers have also been sent to RTOs for suspension. In an official statement earlier, Bengaluru Police said, 'The vehicles in which the driver was found driving under influence of alcohol have been seized, and the permits of such vehicles have been recommended for cancellation by concerned RTOs.' The police assured citizens that these enforcement measures are part of a larger effort to enhance safety on city roads, especially for school-going children. 'Special drives will continue to make the city roads safer by stringent enforcement of traffic rules,' the statement added. Also Read - Bengaluru airport, schools hit by series of hoax bomb threats, police launch probe to trace origin: Report This crackdown comes amid growing concerns over the safety of school transportation in the city. In recent months, several school buses have been flagged for traffic violations and reckless driving. Following multiple complaints from parents and school authorities, the Bengaluru police intensified their vigilance. Officials also confirmed that such surprise checks will be conducted regularly across the city and warned that licences of drivers found violating rules will be cancelled.


Time of India
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
9k challans issued due to glitch in e-detection portal
Ahmedabad: In yet another technical glitch in a state transport department project, this time in the e-detection portal , 9,741 challans were issued to commercial vehicles even though their insurance was valid. This led the transport commissioner's office to issue an advisory on Friday to all Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in the state, asking them to verify the challans and send the corrected data to the head office. On April 1 this year, the state govt implemented an e-detection project, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), at toll plazas, including on Sardar Patel Ring Road, to enforce motor vehicle laws . Under e-detection system rules, "An e-challan on the Parivahan portal is to be issued to transport vehicles passing through these plazas with outdated documents like PUC, insurance, fitness, or permits," said an advisory states, "This is to inform you that an e-detection project has been implemented at toll plazas on national and state highways across the state of Gujarat to upgrade enforcement actions through technology. Operation Sindoor PM Modi meets NSA, chiefs of armed forces amid spike in tensions with Pak India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan Several airports in India to be closed till May 15 - check list However, it has come to the attention of this office that between April 15 and April 17, e-challans were issued for vehicles under the e-detection project even when insurance was valid. It appears that during this period, 9,741 vehicles were issued challans solely for insurance reasons." The office of the commissioner of transport directed the RTOs and assistant RTOs to verify the challans on the vehicle portal. "For vehicles where insurance was valid yet a challan was issued under e-detection, the incorrect challans should be marked as 'wrong insurance challan issued' in the remarks column, and the excel sheet should be sent to this office within two days."Officials pointed out that this was the second such glitch. Earlier in 2024, it was revealed that for vehicles purchased between 2021 and 2022, the state transport department 'blacklisted' 10.5 lakh vehicles in Gujarat to 'rectify' its own mistake that led to a shortfall in the collection of temporary vehicle registration fees. In 2021, the ministry of road transport and highways had announced that 50% of the total registration cost of a vehicle will be collected as temporary registration fees, which comes to Rs 300 for cars and Rs 150 for two-wheelers. However, the provision to collect the hiked fees was not incorporated into the state transport department's online system, leading to a collection shortfall of Rs 100 per car and Rs 50 per two-wheeler. The e-detection system, as a pilot project, applies to all toll plazas under the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the roads and buildings department in the state and will be rolled out country-wide based on the outcomes and recommendations.


Time of India
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Over 48,000 challans issued to taxi & auto drivers for violating traffic rules in Mumbai
MUMBAI: In a massive crackdown against auto and taxi drivers violating traffic rules, mainly refusal to ply , traffic police issued over 48,000 e-challans over a fortnight. A special campaign was carried out between April 18 and May 4 under the supervision of Joint Commissioner of Traffic, Anil Kumbhare. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Police said 28,814 challans were issued for refusal to ply, 1,164 challans for not wearing uniforms, 6,268 challans for carrying more passengers than permitted, and 12,171 challans for other violations. "We collected Rs 40.25 lakh in fines," a police officer said. The process of suspension of licences for 28,814 auto and taxi drivers for refusal to ply is ongoing at Regional Transport Offices (RTO).