KOZHIKODE: The corporation is planning to re-route buses and rearrange their timings as part of its comprehensive bus plan that is aimed at streamlining traffic in the city.

The civic body will convene a meeting in this regard in September.
Officials of the traffic police, Kerala Sustainable Urban Development
Project (KSUDP), National Transportation Planning and Research Centre
(NATPAC), Engineers’ Forum and Regional Transportation Office, representatives of the bus organizations and experts from National Institute of Technology – Calicut (NITC) are expected to take part in the meeting.

The civic body had earmarked a sum of Rs 42.56 crore in the budget for the project.

As per the re-routing plan, the services of buses plying from various
parts of the district to the city would be expanded to cover more areas,
thus making travelling by bus a comfortable and practical option for
the residents. The civic body is also planning to convert the Palayam
bus stand into a major bus hub in the city. At present, private buses
mainly use the Moffusil bus stand at IG Road. Only the buses plying
towards Mokkam, Thamarassery, Mavoor, Vazhakkad and Narikuni use the
Palayam bus stand.

Through the re-routing of buses, the civic
body is hoping to ensure public transportation more accessible to
everyone in the corporation.

The civic body is also planning to
find a solution to the frequent accidents at the Thondayadu bypass. Once
the work on the Meenchanda bus terminal is completed, the civic body
will ensure that the buses coming in from the southern parts of the
district halt at Meenchanda so that passengers can catch buses to the
city from there.

“The idea is to prepare a detailed bus plan to
ease traffic congestion in the city,” said M Mohanan, public works
standing committee chairman. “The plan to re-route buses and re-arrange
their timings will be implemented only after considering the suggestions
of the experts in the meeting,” he said.

K K Vijayan, retired
superintendent engineer, PWD, said though he had presented a proposal on
the relocation of bus stops and re-routing of buses to the corporation
in 2010, nothing has been done so far.

He had then suggested
regulation of traffic and relocation of bus stops at 12 places in the
city. The relocation of bus stops was proposed at Eranhipalam Junction,
West Hill-Chungam Junction, Mavoor Road, Rajaji Road, Pavamoni Road,
Poonthanam Junction, Palayam Junction, Stadium Junction, Pushpa
Junction, Pottamal Junction, Medical College Junction and Mananchira.