KOCHI: In a novel initiative to ensure seamless public transport facility in the city, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has succeeded in bringing together autorickshaw drivers’ unions in the GCDA and Goshree areas to form a company/society.
Around 15,000 autorickshaw drivers in the city will join the scheme and work as a single professional operating unit under the proposed company.
The move is aimed at connecting Metro stations to various places in the city and its suburbs.
The company/society will be managed by the District Autorickshaw Union Coordination Committee, which will have representatives of major unions in the governing body. It will be responsible for formulating the rules, regulations and bylaws and also the smooth functioning of the system.
The unions will hold meetings with the local units to convince auto drivers of the basic vision behind the initiative, before May 10.
“Kochi has more byroads and service roads than main roads. The best way to connect people with the public transport system from these roads is autorickshaws. Connecting autos to our public transport system will bring a revolutionary change in the city traffic,” said KMRL managing director Elias George.
“Once the company is formed, the new system will enable GPS tracking, mobile journey planner and smart card ticketing - making the journey hi-tech, safe and easy for commuters. To proceed further in the matter, the unions will hold meetings with KMRL and the technical partners on May 2,” he said.
Another task taken up by the Coordination Committee is to deliberate on the list of feeder routes to be finalised for Kochi Metro, Water Metro and feeder buses with the help of local units. The initiative has the technical assistance of the students of SCMS College.
The Coordination Committee will hold further discussions to decide whether to create a society or register it as a company before May 30.
The committee will also hold a contest among autorickshaw drivers to create a name and logo for the proposed company, designing of the autorickshaws and the uniform for the drivers.
“It is a social inclusion project which will provide a working environment as an ‘employee and owner’, under a professional operating unit- a company or society,” said Elias George.
Auto services
The auto integration system will help commuters avail of three types of services - Hire Auto, Smart Auto and Feeder Auto. While Hire Auto conducts normal service taking people from A to B, Smart Auto will come to commuters’ doorstep and can be booked through an app. Feeder Auto will pick people from feeder routes.