Private bus operators fleece users on Mettupalayam route

COIMBATORE: Private bus operators are fleecing passengers on the Mettupalayam route, as transport department officials have stopped enforcing the district collector’s order declaring the Mettupalayam Road New Bus Terminal as a separate stage.
Implementation of the order will result in passengers boarding from the Mettupalayam Road Bus Terminal paying 3 less compared to those who board from Gandhipuram Bus Terminal, which is 3.5km away.
While RTO officials implemented the order for a few days from March 29, private bus operators continue to collect the same fare.
After secretary of Coimbatore Consumer Cause K Kathirmathiyon raised the issue, Coimbatore collector Kranti Kumar Pati issued an order on April 10, instructing transport authorities to enforce it.
RTO officials are not enforcing the order for reasons best known only to them, Kathirmathiyon said. “It should have been implemented in letter and spirit. I don’t know what is stopping them. The operators moved the court against the order, but the court stated that status quo should be maintained, which means the collector’s order stands.”
RTO north Sivagurunathan, who is supposed to implement the order, said the case will come up for hearing on April 26.
The collector told TOI that there is no need to wait for the court order as there is no stay on the order. The transport department will implement it without any delay, he added.