Agencies that extend loan for bus terminal-cum-shopping complexes must ensure that the structures are passenger friendly and are devoid of too many floors, since such multi-rise structures that the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) built at Thampanoor in Thiruvananthapuram, Angamaly, and the controversial twin towers in Kozhikode, have proved to be a damp squib, said D. Dhanuraj, chairman of city-based think tank Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) which helped realise Vyttila Mobility Hub, an inter-modal hub for buses, ferries and Kochi Metro.
Ill-equipped
“The ill-conceived bus terminals, which have become a liability for the KSRTC, have proved yet again that the agency is ill-equipped to construct them and to rent/lease out the premises.
“Their terms of reference must be properly framed and their design and construction entrusted to private agencies, much like the way IT parks were built in Kerala. In addition, transport/urban planners must be roped in from their planning stage. This will not only prevent loss, but help the KSRTC earn revenue in the long run,” he added.
