Aiming to increase connectivity to Infopark, the trial run of feeder bus service from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Metro Station (JLN) to Infopark at Kakkanad began last Monday. “The services are being operated by a third party who has entered into a contract with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, in a step towards ensuring last-mile connectivity for techies who use the Metro,” said a Kochi Metro official.
The direct service from JLN station currently has four stops within Infopark for the maximum convenience of the employees. The commuters can take monthly pass paying `800 for two-way trips, besides weekly and daily fares. The operator has also made provisions for online booking. The initial response to the service is not easy to gauge since people mostly are wary of using public services due to the COVID-19 scare.
“We are providing free rides for commuters for the first week of the trial run. The service begins as early as 6.45am. Since there are multiple services throughout the day, commuters only have to wait for a maximum of 10 minutes. The last service is at 8.30pm,” said an operator of Chalo, the agency that runs the service. “The service currently does not have intermediate stops along the route. Providing stops at major points like Pipeline, Palarivattom and Kakkanad will make the service more useful for commuters who have to take public transport to and from areas like Muvattupuzha and Vyttila,” said Deepa K R, vice-president of Prathidwani, a welfare organisation of IT employees. Currently, there is a shuttle service from Palarivattom to Infopark with stops along the way.