KSRTC low-floor Volvo and other buses with advertisements on their body parked at the utility’s Ernakulam bus stand. H. Vibhu
Even as the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) cites a potential revenue loss of ₹3 crore a month as the reason for its decision to file a review petition against the Kerala High Court (HC) order banning display of advertisements on the body of buses, road safety experts point out safety issues that such advertisements, which often include body wrappings on almost the entire bus, pose.
Joining the chorus is a section of private bus operators who allege double standards, since all tourist buses were recently directed to operate only after clearing all body graphics and repainting their body in white with a golden yellow and violet stripe each.
Road-safety expert C.J. Johnson, who has over the years written letters to key stakeholders in the Central and State governments seeking to paint bicycles and public transport vehicles in white or colours that are highly visible from afar in the dark, says advertisements occupied a substantial space on the sides and rear of buses, covering even the KSRTC’s logo. This could distract the attention of other road users.
Official sources say permission was granted to paste advertisements on KSRTC buses based on the directions issued by the agency’s Estate Officer. “It is often tough to clear the strong adhesive used to fix the advertisement on the bus body. The advertisements and wrappings often cover the logo, with passengers complaining of not being able to recognise the KSRTC’s low-floor buses. The buses will bring in more revenue than from the advertisements if they have proper destination boards and are better maintained,” he says.
After the recent accident at Vadakkenchery, social media have been abuzz with visuals of innumerable KSRTC buses operating with dysfunctional brake and indicator lights.
Reward system
Former Chairman and Manging Director (CMD) of the KSRTC T.P. Senkumar, during whose tenure the low-floor buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) were added to the corporation’s fleet, speaks of how he introduced a system of rewarding people who informed the transport utility of dysfunctional lights and other safety requirements on the KSRTC buses.
KSRTC CMD Biju Prabhakar says a decision is yet to be taken on challenging the HC order. Buses of the State Transport Undertakings could sport advertisements, as per rules. “This cannot be compared with vulgar body graphics on tourist and private buses.”
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