The state transport department has directed long-distance buses to maintain a record of travel history of passengers and sanitize the vehicles daily in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Letters have been issued to all district transport officers (DTOs) and to private long-distance bus operators to ensure sanitization of seat handles and bars on a daily basis. We have also asked buses to display awareness messages on coronavirus not only inside the buses but also at the bus terminuses,” state transport commissioner Faiz Ahmed Mumtaz said.

The directive, which was issued on Wednesday evening, also instructs the long-distance buses plying to neighbouring states such as Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bengal and Bihar to maintain a register of passenger’s travel history with details like contact number and address on a daily basis.

“We would like to appeal to the people to restrict travelling during this period and do it only when necessary. The buses have to record details of all passengers, including travel history, contact number (mobile number), complete address (based on IDs such as Aadhaar card). The details will have to be kept by the bus operators and shared with the district health department when the need arises,” said Ravishankar Vidyarathi, state joint transport commissioner, who issued the directive.

Sources in the state transport department revealed that the DTOs had been directed to conduct random checks on long-distance buses not only at the terminuses, but also along state and national highways to make sure that the directive on keeping travel history of passengers and sanitization was being followed and public messages were displayed in buses.

However, the directive has compounded the misery for the operators of nearly 400 private long-distance buses plying from different parts of the state.

“Since February, we are suffering huge losses with passenger footfalls reducing by nearly 50 per cent even during the peak Holi season. To make matters worse, we will now have to purchase sanitizers in bulk, leading to a rise in operational costs. We, however, welcome the government's decision to keep records of passengers and the staff have been directed to fill up the details in registers,” said Krishna Mohan Singh, president of the Ranchi Bus Owners’ Association.

The private bus operator estimated monthly losses amounting to crores.

“The long-distance bus sector is staring at a loss of nearly Rs 3-4 crore due to the coronavirus outbreak that has led to passengers cancelling their travel plans,” Singh added.

The transport department has also asked municipalities and notified area committees to ensure cleanliness and hygiene at long-distance bus terminuses and display public messages about preventive steps.