Checks and balance: AMTS buses to be fitted with speed governors

The city bus service will launch the first diesel bus on a test basis,fitted with speed controller equipment that will ensure a maximum speed of 40 kmph in the city and 50 kmph on the highway.

AMTS has tied up with the New Delhi-based Multispeed Gears Pvt Ltd to fit its buses with the electronic cum mechanical device,costing around Rs 15,000 a piece,to prevent the menace of speed driving.

Transport Committee Chairman Pravin Patel said on Thursday that besides the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation,the system is already in use in places in Karnataka,Goa,Andhra Pradesh,Chandigarh and Kerala following a Supreme Court order in the case number 1422 of 2003.

“In fact,GSRTC has conveyed to us that the installation of the device has resulted in improvement of fuel efficiency by 0.48 km,” said Patel.

He said the device will ensure that the speed of the bus does not exceed the set speed even if the driver steps on the accelerator. “The device will control the speed on the basis of the fuel flow and not the speedometer,so even if the speedometer is tampered with,the speed control system will not be affected,” he said.

After giving the device a try in a diesel bus for around a week,it will be followed by a trial on a CNG bus for a substantial time. Once the trials prove satisfactory,all the buses will be covered in a phased manner,Patel said.

Meanwhile,AMTS and the traffic police have agreed that the police fine drivers and conductors who do not wear uniforms while on the job,to bring in a sense of discipline and identity. Drivers have been resisting this on the ground that mobs target them in case of accidents.

In the wake of the accident on Wednesday on Nehru Bridge,the AMTS authorities have launched a campaign to check the licences of all drivers,on the spot,at all terminals. “The time keeper concerned also has been suspended for not checking the expiry date of the licence”,he said.