KOCHI: A short clip of a traffic gridlock because of an influx of private vehicles at a roundabout in Infopark went viral in the social media recently. The sight of vehicles getting stranded from all sides highlights two key issues at the IT hub in Kakkanad — private vehicles choking roads and parking woes.
Amid a call to shift to mass transport, the techies will soon be able to avail enhanced transportation facilities. Private operators are gearing up to operate additional point-to-point air-conditioned buses from Infopark to various destinations and submit written requests with the concerned authorities.
“We’ve now deployed a 40-seater bus to Kodungallur from Infopark to cater to more techies,” Antony B J, managing director of KSBL, a private bus operator, told TNIE.
“Earlier, we operated the trip using a minibus with 20 seats. We’ve also submitted written requests to the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL), seeking a nod to deploy two or three more buses in the Tripunithura-Infopark section.”
The company currently operates a single bus on the in-demand route in the morning and evening peak hours. The service enjoys an average daily ridership of 150 passengers.
“Kochi Metro should either deploy its own feeder bus on the route or grant us licence to operate two more buses to fully cater to Infopark employees. The current congestion is the result of so many private vehicles being used,” the official said.
Another issue there is of parking, and to solve that, the authorities will have to find some parking ground outside the Infopark premises, he said.
“But then, the high cost of land is a hurdle,” Antony pointed out.
The 40-seater will start from Kodungallur at 7.15am and reach Infopark via North Paravoor by 9am. In the reverse direction, it will start at 5.45pm and reach Kodungallur at 7.30pm. The firm, headquartered in Palarivattom, is also planning to operate similar services to Kothamangalam, Perumbavoor, Angamaly and Cherthala soon.
KMRL mulls more services on Kalamassery-Infopark route
Meanwhile, KMRL is planning to operate more feeder services in the Kalamassery-Infopark section to woo more techies. Currently, it operates one trip each in the morning and evening — at 7.15 am from Kalamassery and at 7.45 pm from Infopark — on the route.
“The feeder buses currently enjoy an average ridership of 950 passengers daily. We are targeting a ridership of 1,500, and to achieve the same, we’re planning to operate more services in the Kalamassery-Infopark section. The employees should shift to public transportation instead of using their own vehicles. We’re confident of accommodating any rise in the number of commuters,” a senior KMRL official said.