A file {photograph} of a low-floor bus in Chennai
“After all, the world is theirs too,” the Madras High Court remarked while issuing a slew of directions to the Government of Tamil Nadu, the State Transport Corporations and personal bus producers to make public transport accessible to individuals with disabilities, the aged, the pregnant ladies and kids.
Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy lamented that not even a single low-floor bus was plying in any half of the State as on date, regardless of the Supreme Court in addition to the High Court having handed a number of judgements since 2005 for the procurement of such authorities buses.
Nevertheless, now that the State authorities had acknowledged the want to present 100% universally accessible public transport in the future and had promised to make a starting following a persistent authorized battle waged by activist Vaishnavi Jayakumar, the judges welcomed the transfer with sure directions.
The first Division Bench allowed the authorities to go forward with a tender floated on October 10, 2022 for procurement of excessive flooring buses with a rider that the quantity of such buses needs to be decreased from 1,107 to 950. It ordered that the relaxation of the 157 buses needs to be low-floor, and a separate tender needs to be floated for them inside two weeks.
These 157 buses could be as well as to the 342 low flooring buses (242 diesel and 100 electrical) for which a separate tender has already been floated. Since the authorities had cited dangerous roads and inundation throughout wet season as deterrents, the judges ordered the structure of a committee to establish the routes for the 499 low-floor buses.
The committee ought to comprise of officers from the Transport Department, Institute of Road Transport, Metropolitan Transport Corporation and a incapacity rights organisation, and the routes have to be determined in session with consultants and after giving due consideration to the wants of individuals with disabilities.
‘Develop apps for passengers’
Since it was reported to the courtroom that the 499 low flooring buses could be operated in Chennai, Madurai, Tiruchi and Coimbatore, the judges ordered the improvement of cellular apps in every of the 4 cities in order that passengers may find out about the plying of the buses on a real-time foundation, and wait at the bus stops accordingly.
The Bench additionally ordered that the respective municipal companies should attempt to repeatedly enhance the high quality of the roads, their maneuvering capability and may scientifically lay the bumps/velocity breakers enabling the easy working of the low flooring buses in order that dangerous roads don’t find yourself being a deterrent in the future.
“The bus stops should also be designed scientifically to suit the requirements of the differently abled. Henceforth, any development/reconstruction/repairing/improvement in any of the bus stops should focus on making them differently abled friendly with due facility for wheelchairs to get into low floor bus from the platform,” the Bench added.
Training for bus drivers
The judges additionally insisted on imparting particular coaching to the bus drivers and conductors of the low-floor buses and make them study to be affected person sufficient to cease the automobiles and help disabled commuters to get in and alight from the buses at the bus stops.
“It is made clear that the permission to purchase 950 high floor buses is granted by this order only as an exception and all endeavour should be made to purchase only low floor buses in the ensuing years in respect of the fleet which are to be run within the cities and its suburbs,” the Division Bench clarified.
It additional ordered that a copy of its judgement needs to be circulated extensively amongst vehicle producers and different related organisations to create consciousness that there could be a market just for low-floor buses in the future in order that there might be sufficient competitors to provide such buses to the State.
Before parting with the case, the judges positioned on file their appreciation for the petitoner’s counsel A. Yogeshwaran, Senior Counsel P.S. Raman for MTC, Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran, advocate M.V. Swaroop, Senior Counsel A.E. Chellaih, Ravi Ananthapadmanabhan and advocate ‘Elephant’ G. Rajendran for having assisted the courtroom successfully.
