The Hindu 25.11.2009
Kochi council gives nod for premium bus service
Staff Reporter
| Routes suggested differ from those mooted by Kerala State Road Transport Corporation |
Kochi to get 200 buses, including 50 AC buses
Council wants special purpose vehicle for service
KOCHI: At a special sitting of its Council on Tuesday, the Kochi Corporation finally gave the green signal for the AC Volvo bus service.
Ending the uncertainty over the premium bus service, the Kochi Corporation council gave its approval for operating seven Volvo buses in the city.
The meeting also approved the routes fixed earlier by the Steering Committee of the corporation, for operating the service.
At the same time, the routes fixed by the Steering Committee didn’t match with the routes suggested by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation. The authorities are yet to find a solution to the issue.
Though the starting and end points of the routes suggested by the transport corporation and the Kochi Corporation were the same, there existed contradictions regarding the roads through which the buses were to operate, said C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor.
The council meeting also decided to put pressure on the government for the speedy formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the management of the fleet of buses. The decisions of the council were announced by the Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams at the end of the discussion.
200 buses
Kochi city would get 200 buses including 50 AC, 120 ordinary ones and 30 mini buses as part of the urban transport project of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The Thiruvananthapuram Corporation had started operating the buses recently.
The Kochi Corporation council also approved the decision to allow the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation to manage the buses till the SPV was formed.
The Opposition councillors criticised the civic authorities in what they termed as the deliberate attempt to create the impression that they were obstructing the bus project. The opposition was not to the project but the responsibility and role of the Kochi Corporation in the scheme of things, said A.B. Sabu, the leader of the UDF in the council.
The corporation should have the upper hand in the project and it should not assign the responsibility of managing the service to the transport corporation, which was incurring a heavy loss, he said. Mr. Manisankar said that the corporation should put pressure on the government for expediting the process of SPV formation.
N. Anilkumar, chairman of the Works Standing committee, cautioned that the SPV should not become a subsidiary company of the transport corporation. Civic authorities should get adequate representation in the SPV, he said.
E.M. Sunilkumar, chairman of the Town Planning Standing Committee, also stressed the need for the early formation of the SPV.
Those who took part in the discussion include T.J. Vinod, K.J. Antony, V.J. Hycinth, Shyamala S. Prabhu, N. Venugopal, P.S. Viju and K.G. Dinesan.
Proposed routes
The routes proposed by the Kochi Corporation are the following: 1. Fort Kochi-Aluva (UP Bridge, Kundannoor, Vyttila Bypass, Aluva, Nedumbassery Airport). 2. Fort Kochi-Info Park (Kaloor-Kadavanthra road, Subhash Chandra Bose road, Vyttila, Irumpanam, Infopark) 3. Aroor-Info Park (Kumbalam, Kundannoor-Maradu, Thripunithura, Irumpanam, Kakkanad) 4. Aroor-Angamaly (Kumbalam, Vyttila, Kalamassery, Aluva, Athani) 5. Poothotta-Aluva (Thripunithura, Vyttila, Kalamassery, Aluva) 6. Poothotta-Info Park (Thripunithura, Irumpanam, Kakkanad) 7. Eda Kochi-Angamali (Edakochi, Thevara, South Railway station, SA road, Vyttila bypass) 8. Mattanchery-Pookattupady (Palluruthy, Aroor, Kunnadoor, Palarivattom, Pookattupady) 9. Munambam-Chottanikara (Munambam, Goshree, Kaloor, Kadavanthra, Thiruvankulam, Chottanikara) 10. Fort Kochi-Kakkanad (UP Bridge, Kundannoor, Thripunithura, Irumpanam, Kakkanad).
