Kumaon Motor Owners Union Limited

Kumaon Motor Owners Union Limited
Buses in the KMOU station of Haldwani.
Slogan "Your Convenience, Our Priority"
Founded 1939 (1939)
Headquarters Kathgodam, Uttarakhand, India
Locale Kumaun
Service area Uttarakhand
Service type Ordinary
Fuel type Diesel
Website http://kmoultd.com

Kumaon Motor Owners Union Limited, better known by its acronym K.M.O.U, is a private company providing bus services in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, India. The KMOU, which came into existence in 1939 by a merger of 13 private companies, was the only bus company operating buses in the Kumaon area before independence. It was the largest bus company of this region till 1987.[1]

HIstory

Motor traffic was first introduced in the Kumaon region in 1915, when vehicles started plying between Nainital and Kathgodam.[2] By 1920, this route had been extended to Almora.[3] The same year, Munshi Lalita Prasad Tamta of Almora started a company called 'Hill Motor Transport Company', which ran lorries from Haldwani and Kathgodam to Almora and Ranikhet. After some time, another small company titled 'The Kumaun Motor Service Company' started operations, but it was transferred to Devi Lal Shah Ganga Ram in the latter part of 1922. A third company, named 'Nainital Motor Transport Company' too started operations after few years. This company was a branch of the 'British India Corporation Company',[4]:90 and had a fleet of 88 vehicles.[4]:92 In the year 1922, another company plying buses on this route was started by contractor Narayan Das Hansraj.[4]:90

Similarly, several other motor companies started operations, and as a result, 13 motor companies were registered in Kumaon from 1921 to 1938,[5] which used to provide transport services from Kathgodam to Nainital, Bhowali, Ranikhet and Almora.:99 Mutual competition between these companies generally led to heavy revenue losses for them.[5] Therefore, 'Kumaun Motor Owners Union Limited' (K.M.O.U.) was established in Kathgodam in 1939 with the aim of increasing profits and developing the transport system in the Kumaon region. Two branches of this motor company were opened in Ramnagar and Tanakpur,[6] thereby facilitating the transport of grains, forest produces, potatoes and passengers.[5] Buses run by Roadways, i.e. Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (now Uttarakhand Transport Corporation) started operating only after Independence and thus, it was only after 1947 that buses, trucks, lorries etc. could go ahead of Almora-Ranikhet.[6]

Bus Stations

KMOU currently maintains 7 main stations and 24 sub-stations spread across the region. The main stations are located at Haldwani, Bageshwar, Ramnagar, Champawat, Ranikhet, Almora and Pithoragarh, while the sub-stations are located in Nainital, Jageshwar, Baijnath, Shama-liti, Kanda, Berinag, Thal, Didihat, Dharchula, Devidhura, Ramgarh, Binsar, Kausani, Someshwar, Kapkote, Song-Munar, Chaukori, Gangolihat, Jauljibi, Munsiari, Mornaula, Mukteshwar, Bhikiyasain and Dwarahat.

References

  1. ↑ "The Study Area: Natural and Cultural Profile" (PDF). p. 70. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Clay, J.M. (1928). Nainital: A Historical and Descriptive Account. Allahabad: Government Press, United Provinces. p. 38. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  3. ↑ Pāṇḍe, Badarī Datta (1993). History of Kumaun: English Version of "Kumaun Ka Itihas". Almora, UP, India: Shyam Prakashan. p. 136. ISBN 9788190020947. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 District Gazetteer of the United Provinces of Agra and Awadh: Supplementary Notes and Statistics: Volume- xxxiv: Almora District
  5. 1 2 3 (India), Uttar Pradesh (1981). Uttar Pradesh District Gazetteers: Almora. Government of Uttar Pradesh. p. 144. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  6. 1 2 Nautiyal, Vikas: Aadhunik Evam Samakalina Uttarakhand Himalaya: p. 111
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