By Our Reporter
Shillong: The driver of an SPTS bus coming from Motphran and bound for Nongrah and Mawlynrei nearly rammed into a private vehicle (Maruti Swift No ML 05 J 1841) near the Martin Luther University between Barik and IGP point. The bus was plying without a registration number plate and therefore could not be identified.
The owner of the private vehicle caught up with the SPTS bus at Barik bus stop and asked why he was driving so carelessly. The driver only look amused and denied that he was driving recklessly even while passengers on the bus shouted that a complaint should be lodged with the police.
Interestingly, at Nongthymmai, another SPTS bus without a registration number was seen driving down towards Laitumkhrah.
Normally new vehicles carry some kind of identification number before they are allotted a permanent registration number. This is the requirement of the Motor Vehicles Act. But none of the SPTS buses had any identification No on their bodies or their windshields. The place where the registration no is usually placed is completely blank.
The question here is whether vehicles belonging to the Government can flout the law with such impunity. There have been complaints galore from other drivers about the unruly behaviour of SPTS bus drivers.
Most passengers feel the drivers and conductors should wear uniforms and a name plate for easy identification in case of misbehaviour.
A lady who drives her own vehicle while speaking to this reporter said, “SPTS bus drivers think they own the road merely because they drive a bus bearing the No ML 01 ….which is the government registration number. One would have thought that drivers employed by the government should be properly screened and their conduct should be better than those of other drivers but this is not what it is.”
Several car owners who drive their own vehicles said they steer clear of these buses because they don’t seem to bother pushing other vehicles to the edge of the road.
Meanwhile, Principal Secretary Urban Affairs, Mr P Naik when told of the rough driving incident on Friday, said that a complaint should be lodged about the particular driver so that immediate action could be taken.
MAXI CABS: Like the STPS buses, a few maxi cabs are plying on Shillong roads without the mandatory registration number.
The decision of the authorities to allow these maxi taxis to operate without registration number is a clear violation of the provisions laid down under Central Motor Vehicle Act..
Recently some taxi organizations had also resolved to lodge a complaint against the government-run JNNURM buses and maxi taxis for plying on the road without registration number and for carrying passengers beyond the permissible limit (overloading).
When contacted, the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tableland Lyngwa said these number plate-less maxi taxis are on test drive.
He also asserted that these maxi taxis would start formally operating only after receiving the registration numbers.