THE All India Road Transport Workers’ Federation (AIRTWF) organised a two-day seminar-cum-workshop at Tirupati on December 6 and 7 to discuss the pros and cons of the Draft Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014 and its implications. The meeting was hosted by the APSRTC Staff and Workers Federation and was attended by political leaders, transport experts and professionals, legal experts and representatives of state motor vehicle departments, besides federation members and leaders. AIRTWF general secretary K K Divakaran inaugurated the seminar. Former director of Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) Sudarsan Padam, former CIRT joint director Hanumantha Rao, and S R K Prasad, Transport Head of National Institute of Technology, presented papers on the subject. Tripura’s transport minister Manik Dey and former CBI Director K Vijaya Rama Rao sent their views in writing. The seminar decided to defeat the retrogative Bill and safeguard the interests of the common people and road transport workers in both organised or public and unorganised or private sectors. It was also decided to organise similar seminars in every states to highlight the evil impacts of the Bill and how the BJP-led dispensation is bringing the entire road transport sector under the Union Government’s ambit and privatising the system by handing it over to the corporate sector. Tripura’s transport minister Dey requested all transport workers to raise their voice unitedly against the Bill as it erodes and encroaches upon the powers of the states. The National Road Safety Authority of India, as proposed in the Bill, has been given sweeping and wide-ranging powers for making regulations which hitherto were being done by the state governments. The Bill has provisions that allow the Centre to encroach upon the financial, legislative and administrative powers of the state governments. Motor Vehicle Tax, which is a major revenue source for the state exchequer, will be left to the decisions of the national authority and will severely affect the states’ revenue generation. Dey said the role of state transport corporations has been totally obliterated and the ability of state transport corporations (STUs) to provide affordable transport facilities to the common man, particularly the marginalised, downtrodden and those in remote areas, will be in jeopardy. The anti-people Bill will harm the interest of the poorest sections of the society and it envisages privatisation of licensing procedures, which will be detrimental to the safety and security of the people and their welfare. The open tender system for operating vehicles in each schemes eliminate STUs and the concessions enjoyed by public in travel will come to an end. Lakhs of private bus operators will also be washed out and the entire sector will be monopolised by corporate entities. In the private sector, transport workers including auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers are under self employment schemes and they too will be affected on implementation of the Bill. On the first day of the seminar, impacts of the Bill on STUs were discussed, followed by effects on the private road transport sector the next day. Former CBI Director Rao, also a former transport minister of Andhra Pradesh, said the protections given to state transport corporations through an Act of Parliament in 1950 are sought to be taken away by the new Bill and wherever state undertakings are functioning fairly, extensively and efficiently like in Karnataka, AP, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, etc. the available protections should not be taken away. It is in the hands of the state governments concerned to improve efficiency and safety of the STUs, he said and suggested that a provision may also be provided in the proposed Bill to ensure that there is no monopoly, unhealthy competition and violation of labour legislations with regard to work norms and other facilities. A widely prevalent malpractice has been the illegal operation of tourist services. If the idea is to encourage tourism by ensuring contract packages, the law is often violated in the states. Contract carriages for tourist purposes are being used as stage carriages adversely impacting revenue generation and safety. While this one factor is also responsible for loss of STUs, no attempt has been made in the Bill to prevent misuse of tourist permit, he said. Member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council Yandavalli Srinivasulu Reddy of the Progressive Democratic Front explained that the contents of the Bill does not reflect ground realities prevailing in India and the proposed legislation is anti-people and anti-workers. He said the matter had been discussed with the AP Transport Minister and a resolution would be moved in the Assembly against the Bill. Delivering the keynote address, former CIRT Director Sudarsanam Padam appreciated the fact that the workers and trade unions have taken interest in the matter and are determined to have their say before the Parliament takes up the Bill for consideration. He said even the biggest segment, state transport undertakings and the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings have not fully woken up and their silence is deafening. A short-term management at the top with bureaucrats cannot see beyond their nose. A transport worker is among the most hard working among the labour force. To drive a bus for seven hours or be a conductor without even sitting for the entire duty is indeed physically and mentally draining. He suggested that priority in allotment of routes and burden of tax should be progressively reduced in the new Bill. There should be entry barriers for private sector so that it comes in the corporate mode to responsibly compete with the public sector. New Technologies, IT interventions, inducting professionalised job positions are necessary to make travels safe and dignified. Dr. Padam pointed out that before preparation of the Bill no prior discussions were held with anybody including transport experts, STUs and legal experts. All advanced countries finance public transport. In the US, 80 percent expenditure in transport sector is subsidised by the federal government and 10 percent by local governments. In Holland and Hungary, free service facility is made by the government around the town area. Our government should take lessons from these countries before formulating a new Bill. Hanumantha Rao described transport as a key sector and said all other key sectors like agriculture, industry, health, education, defence and tourism depend on it. It is not only a key sector, but all other major sectors also depend on it. Public transport is ideally suited for India. Nearly 85 percent of people depend on public transport (private and STUs) as motor vehicle ownership in the country is just above 15 percent. Due to poor income levels, meagre road space, high traffic density, shortage of fuel, STU buses are ideal in India. Public transport costs less, needs less urban space, less energy intensive, and less polluted. The new Bill replaces the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and the protection clauses are being taken away. The 53 STUs (24 RTCs, 7 municipal undertakings, 9 Govt. Departments, 13 Companies), that employ over 7.5 lakh workers with 1.20 lakh buses, have an investment of Rs 50,000 crore and carry 2,500 crores passengers annually, will be closed down on implementation of the new Bill. Yesterdays’ illegal operation will become legal with the new Bill. The implication is that the minimum fare distance of travel will be fixed at 50 km. Small capacity vehicles (Maxi Cabs, Sumos, Mahindra, Jeeps) will enter the market as stage carriages, all public transport vehicles (private & STU buses) will be eliminated. On entry of small vehicles, there will be traffic congestion, environment and safety problems. The STUs in India accounts for 15 percent and private sector is 85 percent. In the private sector, the Motor Transport Workers Act is violated and poor wages still prevail. There is no clause to address these problems in the new Bill. Public transport is more political than technical and the need of the hour is more STUs with more financial assistance for the best interest of the common man.