Lok Sabha Question No. 1059 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-05
Subject: Regulation of Private Bus Operators
Ministry: ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS
Asked by: Shri Putta Mahesh Kumar

## be pleased to state:

- (a)    the total number of road accidents involving private bus operators reported  during  the  last  five  years,  State-wise  and  district-wise  in Andhra Pradesh;
- (b)      the  existing  regulatory  framework  governing  private  bus  travel services, including permit conditions, safety standards, driver qualifications and vehicle fitness norms;
- (c)      the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen  monitoring, surveillance and compliance of safety norms by private bus operators in the light of the increasing accidents;
- (d)    whether the Government proposes to introduce mandatory safety technologies such as GPS  tracking, driver alert systems, speed governors, real-time monitoring or emergency response integration for private buses;
- (e)    if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f)       the  number of penalties imposed, licences suspended and cases registered against private bus operators for non-compliance with safety regulations  during  the  last  five  years,  State-wise  and  district-wise  in Andhra Pradesh?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## (SHRI NITIN JAIRAM GADKARI)

- (a)    Government publishes report on 'Road Accidents in India' based on data received from States/ UTs. The specific information on districtwise  accidents  involving  private  bus  operators  is  not  maintained centrally.  However,  the  State/UT-wise  number  of  accidents  involving buses as impacting vehicle during the year 2020 to 2024 is available at Annexure.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1059 ANSWERED ON 5 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## REGULATION OF PRIVATE BUS OPERATORS

1059.         SHRI PUTTA MAHESH KUMAR:

## Will the Minister of ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

सड़क परिवहन औि िाजमार्ग मंत्री

- (b) to (f)    All transport vehicles, including private buses, are required to possess a valid Certificate of fitness issued under the Central Motor Vehicles  Rules,  1989.  Fitness  testing  is  mandated  to  be  carried out   biennially  in  the  first  eight  years  and  annually  thereafter,  in accordance with Rule 62 of the  said Rules to ensure compliance with prescribed safety and emission standards.

The  Government  vide  G.S.R.  905(E)  dated  23rd  September,  2016 notified  that  the  testing  and  approval  for  body  building  of  sleeper coaches  shall  be  in  accordance  with  AIS  119(Rev.1)  2016.  This  has been amended periodically to incorporate additional safety provisions since 2017.

Some of the features / requirements are detailed as under :

- I. Two units of fire extinguishers (total capacity 10 kg), one near driver and one in passenger compartment.
- II.  As  per  standard,  4  exits  (1  exit  for  emergency  door,  2  exits  for hatches and 1 exit for window or glass) have been provided for buses of 12 m length. Further, one additional hatch has to be provided for buses above 12m length.
- III.  Mandatory installation of fire detection and suppression system in engine compartment and other fire-prone areas.
- IV.  No  separation  between  passenger  and  driver  compartment  for  all type of buses.

The Government vide G.S.R 159 (E) dated 06.03.2024 has notified Level  Playing  Field  between  Original  Equipment  Manufacturers  (OEM) and  Non-OEM  Bus  Body  Builders  for  buses  with  seating  capacity exceeding  22  passengers  excluding  driver  with  effect  from  1st  Sept

2025.

Further, the Government has issued an advisory to all States/UTs for strict compliance of AIS:052 and AIS:119 at the time of registration and  during  fitness  inspection  as  per  Rule  62  of  the  Central  Motor

Vehicles Rules, 1989.

Also,  All India Tourist Permit Rules, 2023 have been notified vide G.S.R. 302(E) dated 18th April, 2023 have been notified in supersession of the 2021 rules.This came into effect from 01.05.2023 to simplify the application procedure and to reduce compliance burden the provision of "Authorization" and All India Tourist Permit has been  made independent of each other. Further, more categories of tourist vehicles, with lesser permit fees for lesser capacity vehicles (less than ten) have been  introduced  to  provide  considerable  financial  relief  to  smaller tourist  vehicle  operators,  having  smaller  vehicles  with  lower  seating capacity.

As a part of the vehicle safety framework particularly as a measure to enhance  the  safety  of  women  and  children,  the  requirement  for installation of Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs) and emergency buttons in public service vehicles, including private buses, has  been  notified  under  the  Central  Motor  Vehicles  Rules,  1989, through Rule 125H. The said provision is related to  fitment of AIS-140 compliant  VLTDs,  enabling  GPS-based  tracking,  and  integration  with emergency response systems.

The implementation of the VLTD framework, including integration with  State  emergency response platforms and monitoring systems, is undertaken  by  the  respective  State/Union  Territory  Governments  in accordance with the notified rules.

Further,  the  Government  approved  a  scheme  (on  15th  January, 2020) for implementation of 'Development, Customization, Deployment and Management of State-wise vehicle tracking platform for Safety & Enforcement  as  per  AIS-140  Specifications  in  States  /  UTs  under Nirbhaya Framework'. The proposed system envisages enhancing the safety of women and girl children by establishing Monitoring Centers across  States/UTs,  which  shall  track  all  the  Public  Service  Vehicles (PSV)  that  are  fitted  with  location  tracking  device  and  emergency buttons  for  raising  an  alert  in  case  of  emergency.  The  Monitoring Centre  monitors  the  alerts  and  coordinate  with  State  Emergency Response Support System (SERSS) for responding to distress calls.

The  said  scheme  is  limited  to  providing   finance  assistance for  setting up of Monitoring Centre in each State/UT for the tracking of PSVs. Total 19 States/UTs have commissioned the Monitoring Centres so far .

Annexure

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1059 ANSWERED ON 5TH FEBRUARY, 2026 ASKED BY SHRI PUTTA MAHESH  KUMAR  REGARDING REGULATION OF PRIVATE BUS OPERATORS.

| Accidents involving buses as the impacting   | vehicle 2020   | during 2021   | the years 2022   | 2020 to 2023   | 2024. 2024   | No. State/UT 1   |
|----------------------------------------------|----------------|---------------|------------------|----------------|--------------|------------------|
| Andhra Pradesh                               | 251            | 305           | 447              | 288            | 338          | 2                |
| Arunachal Pradesh                            | 9              | 18            | 14               | 23             | 14           | 3                |
| Assam                                        | 268            | 314           | 343              | 290            | 190          | 4                |
| Bihar                                        | 70             | 135           | 130              | 67             | 74           | 5                |
| Chhattisgarh                                 | 110            | 68            | 136              | 152            | 107          | 6                |
| Goa                                          | 66             | 47            | 174              | 79             | 64           | 7                |
| Gujarat                                      | 244            | 248           | 295              | 267            | 237          | 8                |
| Haryana                                      | 330            | 142           | 378              | 187            | 126          | 9                |
| Himachal Pradesh                             | 26             | 57            | 104              | 86             | 75           | 10               |
| Jharkhand                                    | 165            | 113           | 92               | 95             | 72           | 11               |
| Karnataka                                    | 854            | 686           | 1145             | 1069           | 1313         | 12               |
| Kerala                                       | 1157           | 1391          | 2936             | 1796           | 1896         | 13               |
| Madhya Pradesh                               | 1088           | 1450          | 1375             | 1365           | 1088         | 14               |
| Maharashtra                                  | 354            | 348           | 483              | 860            | 625          | 15               |
| Manipur                                      | 2              | 2             | 3                | 2              | 0            | 16               |
| Meghalaya                                    | 3              | 4             | 4                | 4              | 6            | 17               |
| Mizoram                                      | 6              | 0             | 0                | 2              | 0            | 18               |
| Nagaland                                     | 2              | 12            | 8                | 2              | 1            | 19               |
| Odisha                                       | 262            | 335           | 371              | 379            | 451          | 20               |
| Punjab                                       | 81             | 23            | 31               | 63             | 73           | 21               |
| Rajasthan                                    | 593            | 648           | 625              | 526            | 440          | 22               |
| Sikkim                                       | 0              | 0             | 12               | 25             | 0            | 23               |
| Tamil Nadu                                   | 1285           | 767           | 1188             | 1215           | 1242         | 24               |
| Telangana                                    | 316            | 345           | 385              | 434            | 524          | 25               |
| Tripura                                      | 8              | 5             | 7                | 4              | 6            | 26               |
| Uttarakhand                                  | 3 1935         | 5 1900        | 23 2124          | 68             | 60 2367      | 27 Uttar Pradesh |
|                                              | 359            | 328           | 538              | 2194           |              | 28               |
| West Bengal*                                 |                |               |                  | 513            | 521          | 29               |
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands                    | 3              | 3             | 3                | 7              | 5            | 30               |
| Chandigarh                                   | 0              | 2             | 5                | 0              | 1            | 31               |
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu         | 0              | 1             | 3                | 3              | 3            | 32               |
| Delhi                                        | 8              | 3             | 16               | 17             | 16           | 33               |
| Jammu & Kashmir                              | 348            | 412           | 357              | 398            | 364          | 34               |
| Ladakh                                       | NA             | 0             | 36               | 1              | 32           | 35               |
| Lakshadweep                                  | 0              | 0             | 0                | 0              | 0            | 36               |
| Puducherry                                   | 5              | 9             | 23               | 21             | 3            | Total            |
| 10126                                        | 10126          | 13814         | 12502            |                | 12334        |                  |

Note: 1. Data have been reconciled for West Bengal and Tamil Nadu for the calendar year 2020

2. * Figures of West Bengal for the Year 2024 is re-casted based on the pattern of the data furnished by the State Police Department for the year 2023 and the aggregate eDAR data of the state for the year 2024.

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