Delay in bus-routes’ rationalisation leading to bunching of services

This leads to subsequent rash, competitive driving by busmen

The delay in implementing a bus routes’ rationalisation plan in the Greater Kochi area, to ensure availability of public transport buses at regular intervals along different routes and to 42 areas that have little or no public transport, has been attributed as among the reasons for bunching of bus services in arterial roads and the subsequent rash, competitive driving by busmen.

A French transport planning agency (Systra Consortium) had been tasked with readying a report on rationalising bus routes in the area that covers Kochi Corporation and municipalities in its suburbs, following which it readied a preliminary report. But, it has been held up since the Kerala Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA) wants to streamline bus services in the Greater Kochi area, while the corporation is keen to have it done at first within its limits, sources said.

They added that the matter cannot be confined to city limits alone, since most buses begin and terminate their trips in the suburbs. What is needed is an integrated bus time table as soon as possible. This is crucial to prevent overlapping of services that affect both passengers and bus operators. In addition, the KMTA’s jurisdiction over the Greater Kochi area too must be notified. This is apart from the need to post adequate number of experts in the agency who have domain knowledge of public transport, they added.

The delay in rolling out a bus route rationalisation plan has in turn held up the entry of buses from Goshree Islands into the city.

Experts in the sector termed as impractical a move to accord priority to rationalising bus routes in the city since there are only two intra-city routes – the Fort Kochi-Edakochi and the Vyttila-Vyttila circular routes. This is because buses operating in a bulk of the routes operate from outside city limits, they said.

With the corporation as the lead agency, the KMTA is expected to provide technical support for the initiative. The important roads that have inadequate public transport connectivity include Container Road, Stadium Link Road, Panampilly Nagar Avenue, the Thammanam-Pullepady Road that is awaiting four-laning and the Mattancherry BOT Bridge-Kundannoor Junction corridor.