Timings for city buses framed in 1990, when the number of vehicles on the roads was far less in Mangaluru, have been responsible for bus drivers racing each other to maintain punctuality, said Dakshina Kannada Bus Owners’ Association on Tuesday.

Speaking to The Hindu here, association president Aziz Parthipady and secretary Ramachandra Pilar said that despite a quantum jump in the number of vehicles during the last three decades, the timings have not been revised, thereby putting undue pressure on the bus crew. Though road infrastructure has seen some development, it was not commensurate with the increasing number of vehicles, thereby affecting the movement of buses.

Besides racing, drivers often skip permitted routes and short-terminate trips to adjust the timings, the association said.

Giving an example, Mr. Parthipady said a few buses plying between Surathkal and Mangaladevi (Route No. 15) were given 15 minutes between Nanthoor and Mangaladevi, which could be achieved only if the roads were free.

With the introduction of the Indian Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Transport Department introduced hash-tick timing for private stage carriage buses from 1990. Under this system, city buses were given three minutes to cover 1 km, service buses two-and-a-half minutes, and express buses were given two minutes. The timings were not revised to reflect the changed traffic conditions, he regretted.

Rationalisation needed

The association said it has been urging the RTA to rationalise the timings in tune with the changed circumstances. The same was yet to be considered by the authority and the Transport Department.

Besides the age-old timings, haphazard on-road parking of private vehicles on arterial roads within the city was also obstructing the free movement of city buses, Mr. Parthipady said.

Giving the example of Kankanady Old Road that was made one-way from Pumpwell Circle to Kankanady a couple of months ago, Mr. Parthipady said there were hardly any traffic jams as on-road and roadside parking on Kankanady Old Road was prohibited.

Police write to RTA

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime and Traffic) K. Ravi Shankar said the traffic police too have written to the RTA to revise timings of private city and service buses. The revision has to be done keeping in mind the changed traffic conditions, the police have said.

The Senior RTO/ Deputy Commissioner of Transport, Mangaluru, who is also the member-secretary of the RTA, was not available for comments.