The fate of Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA) is uncertain with two technical experts working in the agency opting for leave.
This leaves the KMTA, launched in November 2020, with just the Managing Director, who also heads Cochin Smart Mission Limited and Vyttila Mobility Hub Society. Armed with wide-ranging powers and a high level of autonomy in decision making, the KMTA was mandated to act as an umbrella agency to streamline parking and safe movement of pedestrians, integrate commuting modes, usher in route rationalisation of buses in the Greater Kochi area and a host of other issues that had made travel a nightmare for motorists and pedestrians.
But, that was not to be, mainly because the Finance department failed to sanction the appointment of economists and experts to the body, said sources. It has also resulted in much of the office space taken on ₹80,000 monthly rent at Revenue Tower in the heart of the city remaining vacant.
“The plight of KMTA which held the promise of ushering in revolutionary changes in Kochi’s transportation sector, is shocking,” said Santosh Thannikat, a votary of sustainable transport and renewable energy.
Over the past two years, the KMTA was able to make some headway in just a few projects, mainly the readying of the Yatri app for taxi car operators and entrusting NATPAC to conduct a study on permitting the entry of private buses from Goshree islands into the city.
Less than one fourth of the 2,000-odd taxi operators, who have registered for the Yatri app, are using it on a regular basis, even though they can levy fare fixed by the government and need not pay commission for availing it. The app project can be taken forward only if the Finance department sanctions adequate manpower for the KMTA. The lack of manpower has also left the body with no means to implement decisions taken at director board meetings.
