CCC Appeal
The Coimbatore Consumer Cause (CCC) has appealed to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation to sensitise the crew on the need for being courteous to school children using the Government’s free bus pass. The organisation has also requested the Education Department to inform educational institutions to watch out for the bus crew who refused to allow children with free bus pass to board the bus.In a memorandum to the Transport Minister K.N. Nehru and Minister for School Education Thangam Thennarasu, the Secretary of CCC, K. Kathirmathiyon, pointed out that in the last few years, there had been complaints about bus crew ill-treating the students using bus pass. TNSTC town buses rarely stopped at bus stops near schools and even if they did, they either stopped ahead of the bus stop or far away from it making it inconvenient for the children to board the bus. Such practices endangered the safety of the children.
With the academic year about to begin, the TNSTC should sensitise its crew on the need for being polite to school students. It should also post its staff at bus stops in school zones during peak hours to supervise the conduct of the crew. The school authorities too could employ staff near the bus stop and note down the bus number and the time, if the crew refused to accommodate the children. The teachers could also educate the students to note down the bus number, time and the location of the bus stop. The head of the institution could bring it to the notice of the TNSTC authorities.
