Suddenly after a series of catastrophic accidents, the state Road Transport Authority (RTA) wakes up from deep slumber with continuous raids against the erring private bus opeartors. And this time lashes out its whip sternly on the operators with constant raids on the highways. `Though many bus operators are not much happy with the proceedings, public seem to be thankful to the authorities, for their sincerity' says  Kantharao, Vijayawada. Mr Rao travels frequently from Vijayawada to Hyderabad, to visit his daughter who is studying in the capital. Due to unavailability in Trains or government buses, he generally opts for private buses, which are abundant on this route. Inspite of extensively travelling Mr Rao has no explanations for certain issues on the buses like poor maintenace, high speeds and erratic behaviour of the staff.

The scope of the special drive currently on in the State to rein-in the private transport operators and school managements and make them adhere to the rules and regulations vis-à-vis the maintenance of their vehicles, registration, fitness certificate etc is going undauntedly well, say sources. Many erring operators were handed over stern decisions by the authorities. The officials conducted the checks at different places like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam among others.

On the other hand the bus operators say that speed becomes necessary because of the entry and exit restrictions in all major cities.“We have to leave Hyderabad only after 10 pm and return before 8 am. There is no other way than pumping the gas to 120 to 130 km per hour,” says Rami Reddy, a driver of a famous private bus chain in Hyderabad. Approximately the authorities have seized over 145 buses for various discrepancies as per the motor vehicle act. It may be noted that nearly 2500 buses ferry passengers across the state daily.

Public thank the authorities and say `better late than never. 'But why was the delay, had they done similar drives earlier many lives would have been saved. The main issue identified by observers was that the private bus opearators knew the ways to get their acts admitted by their pleasant tactics. And the authorities probably turned a blind eye, pleased with their gestures. All this has put the common man in problems. However even the present rides at times are causing issues of discomfort and delay for the passengers. The whole issue could be sorted out if the APSRTC takes over these buses and operates them `on hire' basis, say sources. (With inputs from internet- AW AarKay)