State Transport Authority issues direction to penalise buses not allowing women to board as first passengers

The Odisha State Transport Authority (STA) on Friday issued a direction stating that the bus operators can’t deny any woman entry as the first passenger. 

In this regard, the secretary of the STA has written letters to all the RTOs. 

“Permits are granted by STA / RTA to stage carriages on different routes to carry passengers on payment of bus fare as notified by this office. The owner or conductor of a stage carriage cannot deny any women as first passenger to enter into buses. Any deviation shall amount to violation of permit conditions and punishable under Section192A of M.V. Act, 1988,” read the letter. 

“You are therefore requested to check stage carriages regularly and whenever it is detected that the owner / conductor of stage carriage is denying women as first passenger to enter into the bus, e-challan may be drawn against the owner of the said vehicle under Section 192A of M.V. Act, 1988,” added the letter. 

Later in the day, the Bus Owners’ Association created awareness among the bus staff regarding the government direction at Badambadi bus stand in Cuttack. 

The direction came after the Odisha State Commission for Women asked the transport department to issue directions so that women passengers can’t be denied entry into buses as the first passenger. 

Notably, OTV first aired the news of a woman being denied entry into the bus because there were no other passengers and made to wait for a male passenger to board first.