Direct Private Buses To Install Audio Announcement Systems To Aid Visually Impaired Travellers: Karnataka High Court To State

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday suggested the State Government to issue a circular directing private bus operators to install audio announcement system service in their buses which would be of assistance to physically challenged and visually impaired persons.

A division bench Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit while hearing a PIL moved by N Shreyas, a visually impaired person said, “Another factor which in our opinion needs attention is that though petition aims at the public transport system undertaken by corporation—BMTC and State Road Transport Corporations, admittedly there are private operators plying on certain routes authorised by state government. In these buses also the persons with disabilities do travel and commute and the steps for providing necessary facilities to the persons with physical disabilities shall be in tandem with the facilities available in public transport and private operators, would be certainly a fair and reasonable approach.”

Following which it directed, “Accordingly we expect a positive step from the state government so that the state government on its own may issue necessary circulars to all the private operators to provide such facilities by issuing the necessary circulars. Needless to state that such circulars would be additional circulars for fixing such facilities for those operators who have already received permission for plying buses and it would be pre-condition to those operator seeking fresh permission from state government for plying buses.”

Further the court directed the petitioner Shreyas to submit a representation to the BMTC and State government suggesting them to make the mobile app used by commuters disabled friendly.

The bench adjourned the hearing of the petition by four weeks and directed BMTC and State government to file additional affidavits enumerating steps taken by them.

Shreyas had earlier argued that initially transport modes such as KSRTC, BMTC buses as well as metro lines had the facility of audio announcements, helping the visually impaired persons to know the stops or the destinations. He claimed that when he found the abrupt stoppage in this audio system, he shared his grievance with other visually impaired friends and volunteers and he discovered that his friends too we are facing this difficulty.

He pointed to the court that in neighbouring states like Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the facility of audio announcement is functional in all major modes of transport i.e. metro line and city buses and state transport corporation buses. Similarly, so far as private transport operators are concerned like OLA & Uber, the facility of Google maps is available with passenger and with driver of vehicles and with the coordination the passenger either seeks necessary information and exchanges it with driver or in case of difficulty seeks further assistance from driver and majority time such assistance is provided and there is smooth operation and functioning in assistance to passenger, visually impaired or physically challenged passengers.

Case Title: N Shreyas & ANR AND The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation & Others.

Case NO: WP 10744/2022