KOCHI: The Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML), as part of its efforts to make the city’s roads smart, is all set to build smart bus shelters to aid commuters in the city. As part of the first phase, two bus shelters will be constructed at Abraham Madamakkal (AM) road by the end of March. The total cost of the shelters is Rs 20 lakh.
The new bus shelters will be greener, cleaner, and smarter, says CSML officials. The solar-powered bus shelter will have facilities such as an SOS alert switch, charging points, wastebins and CCTV surveillance for enhanced safety.
“While we are nearing the concept of smart roads, CSML believes that the city also requires smart bus shelters,” said S Shanavas IAS, CEO of CSML.
“CSML will take care of the maintenance of the shelter for the next three years. Similar bus shelters will be built on the smart roads being constructed across the city. After AM Road, Menaka junction will get a smart bus shelter, as the existing ones were demolished during road renovation work,” he added.
Commuters said that it would be helpful if the smart shelters also had information regarding bus timings on those routes.
“With the help of bus operators, the agency can also incorporate bus arrival and departure information at the shelters to make things easier for passengers,” said Dayal Yadav, a daily wage worker who regularly travels on buses.