Summary:
A conductor licence is issued after conducting a class on how to behave towards passengers,” said district president of Kerala Private Bus Operators’ Association M B Sathyan. No new bus has been registered in the sector since September 2017 and the younger generation is unwilling to work in this field. Besides, response on the part of passengers towards bus employees is also not promising. Now, due to lengthy work hours, many were unwilling to take up the job,” says Mattancherry joint RTO Shaji.The validity of a conductor licence is three years.“Also, the number of private buses operating in the city have come down sharply. KOCHI: Endorsing the existence crisis being faced by private bus operators, the data available from Ernakulam regional transport office (RTO) from 2012 to 2018 shows a sharp decline in the number of conductor licences being issued from the office.While the number of conductor licence issued from Ernakulam RTO office in 2012 stands at 35, it has come down to 16 each in 2013 and 2014, 17 in 2015, eight in 2016 and nine each in 2017 and 2018.According to motor vehicles department (MVD) officials, youngsters were reluctant to take up the job in buses due to long working hours starting from 6am.Private bus operators said that the sector was struggling due to lack of support and rising operational and maintenance cost.“Private bus operators, who also own the buses, at Edakochi , Kumbalangi, Fort Kochi, Chellanam and Mattancherry used to take conductor licence..