Regional Transport Offices (RTO) in Mumbai has begun crackdown against the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, which have been violating rules about reflective tapes .
"RTO have taken action against more than 100 BEST buses for concealing the reflective tapes under wraparound advertisements of various things including those of the state government schemes so far" said a senior officer of transport department.
Earlier Road safety experts of the city have expressed fear that concealed reflective tapes could pose a risk of accidents and hence, they had asked the authorities to take action against the violation that attracts a Rs 1000 fine for the first offense.
According to sources, Tardeo RTO, has taken action against 89 buses of the public transport body until now since they started action last week. Similarly Andheri and Borivali RTO have taken action against 25 BEST buses for wrapping reflective tapes, which make vehicles visible even in dark, with advertisements.
According to a senior BEST official, a firm called Signpost India Private Limited had been given the contract from June 11, 2022 to June 10, 2027 for advertising on 3,115 buses at a cost of Rs 112 crore, any type of violation of norm in this regards agency will be responsible.
BEST paid ₹56 lakh for displaying ads
According to sources BEST has taken permission from RTO office for displaying advertisements on 2,902 buses of its fleet, paying fees of Rs 56.04 lakh.
BEST is a municipal transport body of Mumbai. It, with its fleet of around 3400 buses, provides public bus service to Mumbai and neighbouring cities. Daily more around 30-35 lakh commuters travel on the buses of the undertaking.
Last week, additional transport commissioner JB Patil, who also holds additional charge of joint transport commissioner of Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department had directed all RTO offices in Mumbai Metropolitan Region to take action against BEST buses for ignoring road safety by concealing reflective tapes under advertisements.
As per Rules 104 and 104D of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, it is mandatory for commercial vehicles to install reflective tapes of red, white and yellow colours for safety reasons, as it improves visibility and reduction in accidents.
