Private bus services on Kundapur-Udupi-Mangaluru sector likely to be hit on February 5

Private bus services in Kundapur-Udupi-Mangaluru sector may be disrupted due to protests against toll gate fees.

Private bus services on Kundapur-Udupi-Mangaluru sector are likely to be hit on February 5 as bus operators have threatened to strike work by holding protests near Hejmady and Sasthana toll gates on the National Highway 66.

It is against the toll managers of the NHAI reportedly collecting additional users’ fee from over and above the actual fee.

Addressing press persons in Udupi on Monday, Raghavendra Bhat, president of Karavali Bus Owners’ Association said that the extra fees is being collected at two toll gates for the past five days.

He said that the buses operating on the sector come under category V as their gross vehicle weight (GVW) stands between 7,500 kg to 12,000 kg. This is as per the vehicle classification documents. “But our buses have erroneously been listed in category VII which is for buses that have GVW of above 12,000 kg. Hence an additional amount (users fee) is being deducted from the wallets of our fast tags,’‘ he said.

Not only the bus owners but crew members will also join the protests, he said.

Sadananda Chatra, vice-president of Canara Bus Owners’ Association said that bus operators are now being forced to pay ₹300 for two-way trip instead of the actual amount of ₹145 at Sasthana toll plaza. At Hejamady toll plaza, the owners are paying ₹250 instead of the actual amount of ₹120 for a two-way trip.

“Earlier the toll amount used to get deducted once, but now after sometime additional amount gets deducted as our buses are considered under category VII,” he said.