THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Over the last few years, the city is witnessing a considerable increase in the inflow of tourists, migrant labourers and techies from other states. However, the much-touted Unique Numbering System for bus routes remains a non-starter. Thiruvananthapuram Express takes a look at how the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities in implementing the system has affected visitors from other states.
Though the district administration had initiated several steps to introduce the system and even inaugurated it with much fan-fare last year, nothing positive has been achieved yet. The project, which was drawn up with an aim to remove language barrier in the public transport system in the district, hit a dead end due to paucity of funds.
‘Express’ met a techie, Ravi Baghel, hailing from Madhya Pradesh who had been in the city for a training programme at a multi-national company at Technopark three months ago. He shared the terrible experiences he had to face while trying to catch a bus to reach his destination.
Ravi arrived at a theatre in the city in an online taxi service from Kazhakootam where he was residing. After watching the film, Ravi wanted to go sight-seeing around the city since this was his maiden visit. He decided to choose public transportation to go around the city to understand the culture, language and other attractions in the city. He walked down to East Fort bus stand from Overbridge junction. When he arrived there, he was in a dilemma since none of the buses were sporting boards, numbers or the names of the destinations in English. When he sought the help of a local, the man managed to convey to him through actions that ‘the buses are on the way to Peroorkada’. He asked him again, “Where can I get a bus to Shanghumugham?” (Thanks to his Malayalee friend Rahul who had listed out the must-visit places in the city). The man told him that he will be able get a bus from that stop and the route details can be given only by the bus conductor or the driver.
Finally, Ravi managed to find the bus and reached Shanghumugham. Later, he had to depend on an online taxi again to get back to his residence at Kazhakoottam. “I am not a stranger to a South Indian city. I have worked in Bengaluru and Chennai. At these cities, you can find out which bus to board with the help of the numbers and the names of the destination given in English on the vehicles. Though Kerala is being called a 100 per cent literate state, I don’t know why they are hesitant to display English name boards and give numbers to routes. Though I have many options like online taxi services, I prefer to travel in public transport systems so as to understand the pulse of the city,” Ravi said.
This is not an isolated case. Several people from other states and foreign countries are at the receiving end of this. Many of them get taken for a ride by unscrupulous autorickshaw drivers.
The system, which was to be introduced in KSRTC buses, was designed by the students of the Department of Management Studies (DMS) of Kannur University. Under the system only alphanumeric characters indicating the route of the buses was to be used. The former District Collector Biju Prabhakar had approached DMS students to implement the project in the city after the success of the project in Kannur and Kozhikode. However, the project ended up in yet another bureaucratic muddle.
According to an official with KSRTC, earlier, the plan was to implement the project in association with the Tourism Department. “The Tourism Department was to mobilise the funds. The total cost of making new boards is estimated at Rs 15 lakh. However, the proposal was dropped. Besides, KSRTC also had plans to invite SBT to sponsor the system. But the bank reportedly put proposal on hold. However, we are trying our best to revive the project at the earliest,” a top official said.