Home Dehradun Complaint filed against harassment by bus operator 

Complaint filed against harassment by bus operator 

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By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 13 Sep: Presently there are several apps through which one can book tickets for travel in a bus. Red Bus is one such popular app, though which a large number of people book their bus tickets. This app is meant for booking bus tickets in buses operated by private operators. However, often the passengers making such online bookings are scammed or provided rather poor services. It is always safer and more convenient to travel by government operated bus services.
Neeraj Bhambhu, a resident of Canal Road in Dehradun booked a ticket from Dehradun to Delhi for 11 September, through Red Bus for his mother Parmeshwari Devi aged 65 years. The bus service provider was Yolo Bus. The pick-up point was to be from Dekilying Tibetan Settlement Colony at 9:40 pm. However, at 9:15 PM, they received a phone call from mobile number 7048982757 and the caller informed them that their bus number bears registration number UP15 FT 7773 and due to some No Entry restrictions, it will now be available outside ISBT at 10:20 PM. However, just like other passengers, the Bhambhu family also reached the ISBT on the given time. But there was no bus there bearing the registration number mentioned by the caller. However, there was another bus bearing registration number UP15-FT-0345 and the passengers were made to sit in this bus. Neeraj dropped his mother in the bus and reached home at around 11 pm and then made a call to his mother who informed him that the bus had stopped somewhere and since the AC of the bus was not working, the passengers wanted the bus to be replaced. On learning this, he called up the mobile number 7048982757 and then told the conductor to drop his mother back at the ISBT. Meanwhile most passengers had left the bus by then and only a handful of passengers from Maharashtra were still in the bus by the time it returned to ISBT, and Neeraj who had reached ISBT had to wait for another ten to fifteen minutes before the bus reached ISBT. Somehow, Neeraj arranged an alternative and government operated Volvo Bus for his mother and dropped her before returning to the Yolo Bus. The police was also called but the ISBT Chowki In charge initially did not cooperate with the passengers. On being persistent and upon calling higher police authorities, only, the drunk bus driver and the bus conductor were arrested and the bus was seized. A refund was also thereafter initiated by Yolo Bus.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, Neeraj Bhambhu informed that he has filed a complaint of unprofessional conduct by the bus operators with the Transport Ministry and with the Police and also said that he will file a court case too as the unprofessional conduct not only caused emotional and physical harassment to the family, but also put the safety of his mother Parmeshwari Devi, aged 65 years and who is illiterate and also hard of hearing, at stake. Ironically, this is not the first time that such an incident has happened with the passengers trusting private bus operators to travel to Delhi. Usually such bus services operate on tourist bus license and not a regular route permit.