CTU buses to have panic button by April

Ramkrishan Upadhyay   

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, January 23

All buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) will install a panic button from April 1 following directions  issued by the  Government  of India. The Ministry of Road Transport has directed all states and UTs to implement the directions of the Supreme Court to ensure  the   safety of passengers.

The step has been prompted by crimes against women, especially the horrific gang rape of a student, Nirbhaya, on a moving bus in Delhi in December 2012. The ministry has directed that all  passenger transport vehicles, including buses, should  be  equipped with a GPS device and a panic button.

The ministry has fixed April 1 as the deadline for the implementation of the directions. Amit Talwar, Director, CTU, said they would follow the directions   of the government.

He said while the GPS device had already been installed in over 75 per cent of the buses, the remaining would be covered in the next two  months.

Passengers’ safety on mind

The CTU  has a fleet  of over 600 buses, running on local and inter-state  routes. Amit Talwar, Director, CTU, said the  panic button  would also  be installed  before the  deadline for passengers’ safety. The  panic button would be connected with the   control room of the CTU and the  police. When any passenger presses the panic button, both the Transport Department and the Police Control Room would be alerted for taking quick action.  The bus registration number and its location would automatically  be conveyed to the Police Control Room. The  nearest PCR  would be  alerted to reach the  spot  immediately.

The State Transport Authority has also  made the  panic button mandatory for web-based  taxis in the   policy announced  recently.

Rajiv Tewari, Additional Secretary, STA, said they would not  allow any taxi to run  without the  panic button.