KOCHI: The formation of the Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) for greater Kochi area is likely to be a reality by end of this year. For the formation of the authority, which is a pre-requisite for getting approval for the Kakkanad extension of the Kochi Metro Rail, the UMTA bill has to be presented for the Legislative Assembly’s approval. Once the Assembly passes the Bill, it becomes an Act.
The next Assembly session is likely to be held in September. The Draft Bill is already being circulated among the MLAs. The Act will be known as Kerala Metropolitan Transport Authority Act.
“We hope that the UMTA Bill will be considered at the next Assembly session. The formation of UMTA is a pre-requisite for the second phase of Kochi Metro Rail. Once the Metro Act is enacted, the next steps for the formation of the body will be launched,” said KMRL managing director A P M Mohammed Hanish.
The members of the Authority include the managing director of KMRL as the chief, the Transport Secretary, PWD secretary, managing director of Road Transport Corporation, Transport Commissioner, District Collector, Municipal/Corporation secretaries, City Police Commissioner, KSRTC/KURTC officer and four experts from Transport engineering, urban transport operations and Finance who are nominated by the State Government.
The UMTA will also prioritise actions based on the future transport requirements, besides overseeing the urban transport policy for Kochi in the coming years. Moreover, it will manage the network of integrated public transport, including rail, boats, buses, cabs and autorickshaws.
Once the UMTA Act comes into existence, it will be easy to implement the single ticketing system. People can use the same ticket for various modes of travel. Kochi will become the first city in the country to introduce such a system. The neighbouring municipalities that include Kalamassery, Thrikakkara, Aluva, Tripunithura and Choornikkara panchayat, will have representations in UMTA. A single control and command centre will be set up for the integration of various modes of transport under UMTA.
UMTA
Once the UMTA Act comes into existence, it will be easy to implement the single ticketing system. People can use the same ticket for various modes of travel.