According to official data, police collected more than Rs 40 crore fine from drivers/owners of private vehicles for carrying excess passengers between April 2020 and March 7, 2022 across the state.
Most of these offending vehicles are private buses and mini buses. The fine paid by these private vehicles comprises nearly 10% of the Rs 445 crore penalty collected, from all categories of traffic offenders across the state. A fine of Rs 200 is levied for every extra passenger the vehicles are ferrying. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, the penalised private vehicles were mostly from north Karnataka. Koppal district accounted for the highest penalty, Rs 2.3 crore, in 2020-21. Bidar topped the list in 2021-22 with the defaulters paying Rs 1.9 crore. North Karnataka districts like Haveri, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Gadag and Bidar reported offending vehicles paying more than Rs 1 crore each in fines in both years.
“The main reason behind private vehicles carrying excess passengers is the lack of KSRTC buses. This is a problem not just in remote villages but also areas about a 100km from the district headquarters. Passengers have no choice than opting for these private vehicles for commuting. People are used to travelling in buses that are full and they don’t even mind sitting on the top,” a senior IPS officer said.
