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Kochi council gives nod for premium bus service

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 05:21 administrator
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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).

Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 05:25
 

Yeshwantpur TTMC to be ready by July

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 09:15 administrator
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The New Indian Express 24.11.2009

Yeshwantpur TTMC to be ready by July

Express News Service

BANGALORE: Transport Minister R Ashok on Monday said that the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation’s (BMTC) Traffic and Transit Management Centre (TTMC), being built in Yeshwanthpur at a cost of Rs 90 crore, would be completed by July next year.

After inaugurating the new BMTC bus stand at Chikkamaranahalli in Rajamahal Vilas (RMV) II Stage on New BEL Road, the minister said that the TTMC being built in a space of one lakh square feet will have 60 bus bays and a facility to park 400 cars. Ashok informed that Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa had given his nod to construct a TTMC in Hebbal, which will be built under public-privatepartnership model.

“The TTMC will be built on eight acres of land and the work will commence shortly. This would have a facility to park 2,000 fourwheelers,” he added.

Ashok said that a driver’s training institute at Vaddarahalli is also being built at a cost of Rs 11.25 crore.

Considering the lack of parking facilities for BMTC’s growing fleet, five depots are being built, he said.

A depot in Kannahalli on Magadi Road is being built at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore, another in Bidadi is being built at a cost of Rs 4 crore, the one in Chikkanagamangala near Electronics City on Hosur Road is being built at a cost Rs 4 crore, a depot in Siddapura on HAL Airport Road is being built at Rs 3.5 crore and a depot in Hoskote is being built at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore.

That apart, construction of a depot in Kothanur Dinne has been recently completed at a cost of Rs 4.50 crore, said Ashok. He informed that the land acquisition process to build BMTC bus stations near Namma Metro Rail stations was under way. He said the intelligence transit system adopted by BMTC at bus stations and inside the buses would help BMTC achieve schedule accuracy.

He added that the ticket fare of BMTC’s Vayu Vajra Volvo bus service from Mekhri Circle to Devanahalli had been slashed to Rs 80 from Rs 125. Malleswaram MLA Dr C N Ashwath Narayan urged the Transport Minister to introduce BMTC mini-bus services to revenue layouts and residential layouts, as condition of roads is pathetic ese places.

NEW BUS STAND AT RMV II STAGE OPENED

The new BMTC bus stand of at Rajamahal Vilas (RMV) II stage extension on New BEL Road was inaugurated by Transport Minister R Ashok on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, BMTC MD Syed Zameer Pasha said that the bus stand was built at a cost of Rs 60 lakh on 3,276 square metres of land. The Civic Amenity (CA) site has three platforms, a traffic controller and bus pass distribution counter, among other facilities.

He said that the CA site had been allotted by the BDA to BMTC in 2003 for the construction of bus stand. “BMTC had paid Rs 26.04 lakh to BDA for the site. Following litigations in the court, construction was delayed. Finally, the Supreme Court gave its verdict to build the bus stand,” Pasha said.

He said that new bus stands being constructed were nearing completion at Yelahanka at a cost of Rs 89 lakh, Vidyaranyapura at a cost of Rs 66 lakh and Bidadi at a cost of Rs 2 crore.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 November 2009 09:20
 

Metro II boon to south

Thursday, 19 November 2009 05:42 administrator
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Deccan Herald 19.11.2009

Metro II boon to south
P M Raghunandan, Bangalore:

South Bangalore, which houses a majority of IT firms, is likely to benefit the most from the proposed Bangalore Metro phase II if the current plan is anything to go by.
 

According to the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which is still under preparation, “Namma Metro II” will mainly pass through south, southeastern and southwestern parts of the City in two corridors — from Kathriguppe to ITPL and from IIM-B to Nagawara. They cover IIM-B, Jayadeva Hospital Circle, Dairy Circle, Vellara Junction, Old Airport Road, BEML, ITPL, Whitefield and Kattriguppe. The total length of phase II is expected to be 55 km, official sources in the Urban Development Department told Deccan Herald.

“Due to the cluster of IT firms, south Bangalore has grown at a much rapid pace than other parts of the City. So, it will be convenient if the metro runs in this part. Investors will vie with one other to mobilise funds for the project. The second phase is likely to cost around Rs 10,000 crore,” officials said.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is preparing the DPR, which in all probability will be submitted to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) in two months. Phase I, which is officially named Namma Metro, crisscrosses the core City areas in two corridors, mostly within the Outer Ring Road. It touches all corners of the City.

The DMRC follows the Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan (CTTP) for Bangalore prepared by RITES, a Government of India enterprise.

However, the consultant will finalise the DPR based on, among others, the traffic density study, officials said.

The DMRC, according to officials, is yet to finalise the finance model for phase II of the project. It is working on three options: 100 per cent private funding (with a provision for the required viability gap funding), complete funding by the government (both the Centre and the State) and PPP (with the government sharing civil works, while private partners taking charge of systems and operation). The BMRC is implementing Namma Metro with complete government funding.

Once the DPR is finalised, the BMRC will place it before both the State and Central governments, seeking their nod to go ahead with the implementation of the project. If everything goes according to the plan, work on phase II will begin in mid 2010, official sources said.

 
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