Centre keen to exempt permit norms for private luxury buses

NEW DELHI: The Centre has proposed exempting permit conditions by states for plying AC deluxe buses in its bid to run more buses between cities and put a check on private vehicles.
The road transport ministry has sought views from state governments and all stakeholders before amending the rules. Currently, the law restricts private vehicle owners from running luxury buses on regular routes without a permit from the regional or state transport authority.
"So, almost all long-distance private buses that run between cities are operated as tourist buses and these are allowed to pick up and drop passengers from one particular point to another. They are not allowed to pick up or drop passengers on the route. This is a bad provision in the law when the government is pushing for shared mobility even on longer routes to reduce vehicle load," said Prasanna Patwardhan, president of Bus Operators Confederation of India.
Private bus operators said getting permits to run buses on regular routes was tough as every state had a different set of rules. "Doing away with permits for such buses will increase availability of services. Currently, state-run transport undertakings have less than 1% of their fleet in the luxury category. There is huge demand for such buses across major routes and particularly between big cities," a centralRead More – Source

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