As many as 200 modern commuter-friendly bus shelters will be set up in the capital by the Public Works Department (PWD) as part of the ongoing City Road Improvement Project (CRIP).
Bus shelters with facilities to listen to music are coming up in the 94 bus bays that are being created in the 42 km stretch taken up under the CRIP. Bus shelters are being constructed in such a way that those who are physically challenged can also easily board low-floor buses. Separate seats will be provided for the elderly and the young.
Two speakers will be set up in each shelter for commuters to listen to music. ‘‘Each shelter will cost Rs.1.25 lakh and will have a common name,'' Principal Secretary of Public Works Department Tom Jose said.
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Huge boards will be erected outside the bus shelter displaying the name of the bus stop for the benefit of commuters, especially for those coming from other places.
The shelters had been designed by Anil Kumar Pandala, associate vice-president of Thiruvananthapuram Road Development Company (TRDCL), which is the implementing agency of CRIP. Each shelter will be three-metre long and will occupy the entire footpath. A polycarbonate roof will be given so that daylight will percolate and LED lights will be installed.
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The shelter will have a map of the city with all the 200 bus shelters marked in it. Bus timings will also be displayed. Public awareness messages will be displayed in the flexi glass boards in the shelter. The boards will be lit up using display lights so that it can be visible even during the night. Advertisements will be allowed in the bus shelter and the income from it will be used by the authorities for the maintenance of shelters. The advertisement boards on the side will also be brightly lit up for visibility.
Colour of shelters
The colour of bus shelters had been chosen from the KSRTC buses that had plied in the capital in 1960s. The top portion of the bus shelter will get silver paint and the bottom green. The bus shelters where long distance buses halt will have a red board and the others green.
The construction of bus shelters will commence soon and the prototype will be set up near the bus bay in front of the Park View on the LMS-Vellayambalam road within two weeks. “Necessary improvement will be made based on the feedback received,” Mr. Pandala said.