Kurnool bus fire exposes rampancy of out-of-state bus registrations

Several irregularities in private transportation have come to the fore since a deadly fire on a sleeper bus run by a private operator killed 20 people near Kurnool early on October 24. While reckless driving, forged documentation, and carrying cargo in a passenger vehicle have already come under the scanner, a fresh anomaly is also being debated.

It has been found that private buses continue to operate in Andhra Pradesh despite having their registration in some other state, and the authorities overlook it and the problems it causes.

The law allows private buses to get registered anywhere under the All India Tourist Permit (AITP), but this is meant only for bulk bookings by tourists and events, not regular services with multiple stops. However, private bus operators flout the law to run AITP buses on regular routes. This is an issue not only in Andhra Pradesh, but other southern states as well.

Lives imperilled

Regional transport officials are accused of giving private bus operators a free pass as long as they produce some papers on demand. Private players register their buses, including the sleeper ones, in the neighbouring or even north-eastern states but run them in Andhra, in a bid to lower costs.

It is not just that the trend breeds recklessness, imperilling the lives of scores of passengers, but also leaves the state coffers bleeding.

Also read: Kurnool bus fire: ‘Drunk drivers are terrorists,’ says Hyderabad CP Sajjanar

Officials have admitted that as a result of the illegal operations, the Andhra government loses around Rs 200 crore annually. Yet, no concrete steps are taken to halt the practice.

Since the buses are not registered with the states where they ply, those states have very little control over the fitness of the fleet. Several lives have been lost in bus fires in various parts of the country over the past decade.

Poor control

Experts have held the government’s policy, or lack of it, as the primary reason despite a myriad of other factors causing such tragedies.

Also read: Bus fire survivors recount horror: ‘Door wouldn’t open; fire was already upon us’

The Andhra Pradesh government cracks down on the offenders now and then, but no comprehensive policy to stop the exercise is visible, despite some of the most horrific fire accidents. The latest tragedy near Chinnathekur village in Andhra Pradesh has brought the out-of-state-registered buses to the spotlight again. The bus in question had been registered in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu.

Prior to the introduction of the AITP in 2023, vehicle owners had to pay state-specific road taxes at border RTOs (regional transport offices) for limited-day permits. Now, with the new permit scheme, they can register their vehicles in states where tax rates are low but run them freely elsewhere to maximise their profits.

Technically illegal

Tirupati Regional Transport Officer K Murali Mohan told The Federal, “If a bus is registered in Daman & Diu, Nagaland, or Arunachal Pradesh, and the taxes are paid there, that becomes the ‘mother state’. The vehicle can travel across the country under a national tax structure. But running it solely within one state, like Andhra Pradesh, is technically illegal.”

India’s southern states levy far higher taxes on private buses compared to northern or north-eastern states. This is the key reason why the operators go for out-of-state registrations. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, registering a 48-seater or 36-berth sleeper bus costs about Rs 9.76 lakh annually in state and central taxes. In contrast, the owner has to pay only Rs 1.2 lakh per year to register the same vehicle in a North East state.

Also read: What led to Kurnool bus blaze? Here is the official version

Private tour operator Mallikarjun said, “Some states even allow changes to the chassis or model without scrutiny. That’s why many operators prefer registering their buses in such regions.”

Murali Mohan said the AITP has made it easy for the private operators to exploit the system. Normally, only RTC or government-owned buses get stage carriage permits to pick passengers en route, while private buses are restricted to contract carriage — point-to-point services.

But in practice, the private buses stop at multiple towns, picking up pre-booked passengers, blurring the line between contract and stage carriage.

Grey market transfers

While national stage carriage permits are no longer issued, those obtained decades ago — during Indira Gandhi’s time, when they cost just around Rs 1,000-Rs 1,500 — are now worth up to Rs 2 crore in the grey market. One Tamil Nadu-based operator reportedly holds over a thousand such permits, using them to run buses across Andhra and Rayalaseema.

Another major reason why the private bus operators’ businesses have flourished despite the mishaps is the current state of public transportation. Their vehicles outnumber the government ones by far. For example, in Tirupati alone, five regional RTC buses operate between nearby towns such as Srikalahasti and Puttur, nearly 150 of their private counterparts ply daily between cities such as Vijaywada, Tirupati and Bengaluru.

Also read: Kurnool bus accident: Why this stretch of NH-44 is a death trap

With the Andhra Pradesh Regional Transport Corporation (APSRTC) running about 11,449 buses, private operators have emerged as a parallel transport system. Across Andhra, hundreds of private buses run between major cities — Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam — often with their own offices and depots near official bus stands.

From the Tirupati sector alone, 326 buses operate daily, including 201 AC sleepers and 53 non-AC sleepers. Nearly 50 buses leave for Hyderabad every evening, 30 for Bengaluru, and about 100 for Chennai and Visakhapatnam.

Not enough trains

Lack of enough trains is also another factor, while commuters opt for private buses. Though Tirupati is well connected by rail, getting tickets is a problem. About 90–95 trains pass through the area daily, including 45 via Renigunta, but tickets are often unavailable months in advance.

Former chief ticket inspector Kuppala Giridhar said, “Unless a separate Tirupati division is created and the station expanded with a third line, the demand-supply gap will persist.”

As private buses fill this vacuum, officials admit that most are operating illegally. Whether the government moves beyond temporary checks and reforms its transport policies remains to be seen.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Andhra Pradesh.)