The Kerala High Court on Tuesday has said that the ‘fast’, ‘super-fast’, ‘express’, and ‘luxury’ services of the KSRTC is not allowed to have standing passengers.
The Division-Bench headed by justice Antony Dominic has also said that the KSRTC has to allow only the number of passengers according to the number of vacant seats in these services.
The organisation called Centre for Consumers based out of Pala had approached the HC with this issue.
The HC noted that the passengers have the right for a seat in bus services for which they pay a premium towards the ticket charges, and added that a section of passengers opt for these services considering the uncontrolled rush in ordinary buses.
The court also observed that many a times passengers have to travel standing in these premium services as the bus allows more people than the available number of seats. Terming this as “discrimination,” the court also noted that these passengers who have to stand during travel have also paid the same fare as the ones who get a seat to sit.
The HC ruled that the KSRTC is bound to follow the Motor Vehicles Act, which clearly states that buses are not allowed to accommodate more people than the available number of seats in the vehicle.
