Bus driver penalised

6 February 2009: Following a Bhutan Observer story on a driver and a conductor violating public transport regulations, the proprietor of Meto Transport has suspended both the driver and the conductor.

The Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) has asked for a written explanation from the driver and the conductor of Meto Transport.

“The drivers of public transport buses carrying extra passengers will be penalised,” said Dophu, the Regional Transport Officer, Thimphu. “I met the suspended driver of Meto Transport who told me that he had filed a case against the paper in Thimphu district court,” he added.

He said that the passengers had the right to lodge complaints in any regional office so that the offenders could be caught on the spot and penalised.

Dophu said that, if the drivers were going against the law, the authorities would punch their driving licence, even suspend it if they repeated the offence. “This could even reduce the proprietor’s contract with the transport authority,” he added.

Harka Tamang, the Joint Director of RSTA, said that they had their regional staff on highway vigilance. “Anyone can complain to us and we will take action.”

He said that passengers have to note the vehicle number and the date of violation of rules to lodge a complaint.

RSTA has also issued notices to all the regional offices in the country to frequently monitor the roads.
By SONAM RINCHEN
Source: Bhutan Observer