A medical student in Kerala was fined Rs 5,000 and his car impounded for three days after the driver of a State Road Transport Corporation bus complained that the student forced the bus to go slow.
Faizal, from Azhiyoor near Mahe, was accused of blocking the way and forcing the ‘Lightning’ service bus to go slow for a distance of around 7 km.
Passengers of the ‘Lightning’ bus, which is supposed to travel at an average speed of 80 kmph according to guidelines, demanded action after the student kept blocking the bus from overtaking his car on National Highway 66 near Mahe.
Subsequently, the driver of the KSRTC bus lodged a complaint at the bus station in Kozhikode, along with the registration number of the car.
This led to the Badagara police going to Faisal’s home and taking custody of the car.
KSRTC officials were also called to the police station to discuss the matter. However, the officials turned up only after three days, during which time the car remained in Police custody.
Finally, Faizal agreed to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation for the inconvenience caused to the company and the passengers.
The ‘Lighting’ service was launched six weeks ago with the promise to cut down on travel time substantially. 23 such buses have been launched with 90 specially trained drivers. Unlike regular buses, Lighting buses will not deviate from the shortest routes to enter depots.
The buses have a time table that is faster than trains. The Trivandrum to Palakkad service, for example, has been allotted only 6:30 hours, compared to the 7:30 hours taken by the Chennai Mail to cover the same distance.