Chennai: In view of the Vinayagar Chaturthi festival, special inspections will be carried out intensively across Tamil Nadu until Sept. 16 to prevent omni buses from overcharging fares, and the Transport Department has also announced a mobile phone number for lodging complaints.
In a press release issued by the Transport Department in this regard, it said:
In Tamil Nadu, permits have been issued for and about 4,900 omni buses are operating. About 1,000 omni buses from other states are operating within Tamil Nadu.
During festival seasons, around 3,000 omni buses are operated from Chennai to various parts of Tamil Nadu for the public to travel. Around one lakh passengers travel by omni buses. In the interest of these passengers, omni buses should be operated in an orderly manner and at proper fares.
Following complaints that, ahead of the Vinayagar Chaturthi festival, omni buses were charging the public and passengers more than the prevailing fare, special vehicle inspections have been carried out on omni buses across Tamil Nadu for the past three days by teams comprising Regional Transport Officers and Motor Vehicle Inspectors.
Accordingly, 3,512 omni buses were inspected across Tamil Nadu over the past three days. Of these, inspection reports and e-challans were issued to 639 omni buses found violating regulations, and appropriate action was taken.
During this special audit, compliance fines of Rs. 14,39,100 were imposed for violations. In addition, Rs. 27,58,243 was collected as tax payable to Tamil Nadu from omni buses registered in other states and operated in Tamil Nadu. A further Rs. 3,19,000 was collected as penalty. Through this, a total of Rs. 30,77,243 has been collected over the past three days alone as tax and compliance charges related to omni buses.
During the above audit, appropriate action has been taken against 11 omni buses that were found to have overcharged on Sept. 12.
In the event that a ticket booked online by passengers on omni buses is canceled by the vehicle owner, arrangements must be made for those passengers to travel on an alternative bus. If this is not done, action will be taken to cancel the permit of the concerned omni bus.
With the welfare of the public and passengers in mind, this special vehicle inspection will continue intensively until Sept. 16 to prevent overcharging on omni buses during the festive season and to curb violations.
In the coming days, if complaints are received about overcharging on omni buses, strict action such as permit cancellation will be taken.
In addition, the public and passengers can also lodge their complaints regarding excessive fare collection by calling the mobile number 9384808333 and by emailing tc.tn@nic.in
It has stated.
