Hindustan Times
Please have Volvos or something similar.Imported Air-Conditioned State transport buses- to be completed within one year
TOIMinister wants to drive out autos
Sanjeev Shivadekar, TNN, Mar 3, 2010, 05.28am IST
MUMBAI: If the state cabinet approves, rickshaws will soon be a thing of the past in the city and the rest of Maharashtra. The transport department has proposed to get rid of the ubiquitous three-wheelers and replace them with four-wheelers.
“Auto permits will not be renewed if the owners do not replace their vehicles with four-wheelers,” said Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the state transport minister. Reason: According to the minister, the move will reduce the number of fatal accidents and curb pollution. The proposal will soon be taken up before the state cabinet for its approval, Vikhe-Patil said. “Before amending the law to discourage the use of three-wheelers in the state, we will include suggestions by our cabinet colleagues,” he added.
To ensure that the rickshaw owners are not financially burdened, the minister said, “Those who upgrade their vehicles will not have to pay anything extra. They will be charged the existing three-wheeler permit fee and taxes for registering their new four-wheelers.’’
Expectedly, the rickshaw union is unhappy with the phase-out proposal. “There is a hidden agenda behind this move. If autos can ply in Singapore and Bangkok, why should it be banned in Maharashtra? We will oppose the move,” said Sharad Rao, president, Mumbai taxi and auto union.
Incidentally, the state transport department, which has imposed age restriction on taxis, now wants to impose similar curbs on autos too.”To control pollution, autorickshaws that are over seven years old will not be given permission to ply on the road. The permit will be renewed only after the vehicles are upgraded (to four-wheeler),” the minister said.
Also to ensure the safety of passengers, especially those rickshaws ferrying schoolkids, the department has made it mandatory for such vehicles to have fibre or steel body, instead of the existing rexine cover on the top. This suggestion has been mentioned in the school bus policy of the state, the minister said.
Would take more than that me thinks:banana:
might go more to the burbs if this happens