KOCHI: Finally, the decade-long demand of Goshree Islanders seems to have been met. With Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) starting 12 Thiru Kochi services from Goshree Islands to Vyttilla, the transportation woes of Islanders will be eased to a large extent.
Till now, except for one or two KSRTC services, all private buses from Goshree end their journey at High Court Junction. “On Monday, the KSRTC started 12 services, at an interval of 10 minutes, from Njarakkal, Elankunnapuzha and Vypeen to Vyttila. The services will be conducted both via Padma and Menaka routes,” says District Transport Officer (DTO) VM Thajudheen Sahib.
According to the official, the decision was taken at the behest of KSRTC managing director M P Dinesh, who was the former Police Commissioner of Kochi.
“We have taken into account the demand of the people. Since the private buses can only ply till the High Court, the Islanders have been suffering for a very long time. The KSRTC MD took the decision to roll 12 services on the stretch,” said the DTO.
The services, which start from 5:30 am and extend till late in the evening, will also ensure Metro connectivity. As many as one lakh people are expected to gain from the move.“Islanders will stand to benefit from these services. The biggest advantage for the commuters is easy travel and cost saving. If getting down at the High Court and taking another bus to the city cost an extra of `6 every day, they get to save the amount by taking the straight KSRTC services,” says Thajudheen.The decision is also expected to alleviate the traffic congestion and rush at the High Court Junction, where all private buses from the island end their journey.
The corporation also has plans to start services to Kaloor and Pipeline Junction. “We have just rolled these services. The plan is to reduce by the interval between services by 5 minutes by adding more buses on the route. We will also be starting services to Kaloor and Palarivattom in the next phase,” said the DTO.
Meanwhile, Goshree Action Council chairman Majnu Komath said the council wholeheartedly welcomed the decision.
“This is a great solace to the people of Goshree as the patronage along the route is huge. But, at the same time we are a bit apprehensive about how long these services will continue,” he said.
According to Majnu, almost 10 years ago, when Jose Thettayil was the Transport Minister, 20 services were rolled out on the route. “The launch of these services were held with much fanfare. But, except for one or two, all the remaining services were called off and we suspect the hand of private bus lobbies. We are apprehensive about history repeating, otherwise this move is very encouraging,” says Majnu Komath.