West Bengal transport minister Ranjit Kundu has clarified to pool car owners in the state that commercial permits are an absolute necessity for them to ply their vehicles In West Bengal (WB), parents sending their kids to school in carpools may now feel much more secured. Although a slew of pool cars run in most cities and towns of the state transporting students to their schools, many of them are reportedly running without government permits. This has compelled the state transport department to make plans of launching a drive against pool cars running without such permits.
Recently, WB transport minister Ranjit Kundu met a delegation from the pool car owners’ association in the state and clarified to its members that commercial permits are an absolute necessity for them to use their vehicles as pool cars. Owners of pool cars who do not have government permits have been asked to apply for the same within the second week of January 2010.
 Issues concerning pool car owners
While the secretary of the pool car owners’ association Abir Roy stated that the recent meeting with the state transport minister has been fruitful, there are a few issues that are concerning the pool car owners. “Pool car owners are likely to find it difficult to follow some of the conditions set by the state transport department. Considering that these are mostly small players, which operate with limited funds, adhering sincerely to all rules laid down by the government is not always possible for them,” comments A Chowdhury, travel consultant at Chowdhury Travels, a small-sized transport firm in Kolkata.
Even as the transport department set its rules, the pool car owners had also put across a request to the WB transport minister, urging him to reduce the taxes for running vehicles on a commercial basis. However, their plea was turned down.
“A cut on taxes would certainly have made us breathe easy. Given the rising costs pf transport operations, it is difficult for small players like us to dig deep into our pockets for paying taxes,” says V Maity, proprietor of Maity Travels, a small-sized bus operator in Kolkata.
The concerns of the pool car owners notwithstanding, the WB transport department’s decision to crack down on illegal pool cars has drawn appreciation, especially from the parents of the students availing the pool cars to reach school.
Prasenjit Das |
