The Hindu 23.11.2009
Kochi council to discuss premium bus service routes tomorrow
Staff Reporter
| Councillors want special purpose vehicle for operating service |
Public sentiment in favour of bus service, says Mayor
Mini-buses for service unlikely to be available
KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation council would take up the issue of premium bus service project at its Tuesday meeting.
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission had cleared the premium bus projects for Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Though the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has launched the service, Kochi could not make any headway regarding the project.
At first, it was the model code of conduct that came into effect following the bypoll declaration that stalled the project. Even after the model code was withdrawn, the civic authorities could not take the project ahead as objections were raised in the council regarding the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for managing the fleet of buses and the routes through which the buses were to operate.
The proposal is to launch a premium bus service in the city using low-floor, AC buses. The project aims to promote the use of public transport system and reduce the number of private vehicles entering the city thus decongesting the city roads.
While a section of the councillors demanded that the bus service should wait till the formation of the SPV, some others demanded that the routes suggested by the Kerala State Transport Corporation should be rejected and those suggested by the council should be considered.
The special meeting of the corporation council to be held on Tuesday will discuss the issue of bus routes alone, said Mercy Williams, Kochi Mayor.
The Transport corporation authorities maintained that the routes were decided after considering the financial viability of the services. The revenue generation from the bus service is a key factor that the Transport corporation should take note of while fixing the routes, she said.
At the same time, the Steering Committee of the corporation had suggested a few routes after considering the destinations that need to be covered by the buses. The Steering Committee has also prepared a detailed document regarding the bus routes. These issues would be discussed at the meeting and a consensus would be evolved, she said.
Ms. Williams said that the public sentiment was in favour of the bus service and there was no point in holding up the service any further. As the issue of SPV is common to the Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi Corporations, it is ideal to leave it to the government, she said.
The Kochi corporation is unlikely to insist on getting mini-buses to be operated on city roads, as the Central authorities are yet to finalise the specifications for these vehicles.
Earlier, some of the councillors had demanded mini-buses for Kochi roads.
The finalisation of the specifications for mini buses is likely to take much time. Meantime, the buses allotted for the city could be pressed into service, Ms. Williams said.
