KOCHI: The days of arduous, uncomfortable bus journeys are becoming a thing of the past as the KSRTC is rolling out new modern buses, equipped with a range of amenities designed to enhance comfort on both short and long journeys. Ernakulam district has been allocated a total of 11 new buses, from luxury AC sleeper to Link buses to Mini buses.
The highest number of new buses are allotted to Ernakulam bus depot, which has got six new buses, while Aluva and Perumbavoor have been allocated two new buses each and Muvattupuzha one.
“The Ernakulam depot has got one pair of AC Sleeper buses, which will replace the existing Swift Premium AC deployed in Ernakulam-Chennai section. The bus leaves Ernakulam at 5.30 pm to reach its destination by 6.40 am the next day. In the return direction, the bus will leave Chennai at 6.30 pm to reach Ernakulam at 7.30 am the next day,” a senior KSRTC official said.
The AC Sleeper bus has been designed with the National Flag theme and features comfortable sleeper berths, mobile charging points, television, CCTV surveillance and on board cameras.
The depot has also got a new FP Premium bus, which will be deployed in the Ernakulam-Tiruppur (departs at 1.30 pm) section, besides four Link buses – deployed in Ernakulam-Pooppara (2.30 pm), Ernakulam-Kumily (4 pm), Ernakulam-Kumily (5 pm) and Ernakulam-Nedumkandam (10 pm) routes.
While the Fast Passenger and Super Fast models will be operated on Tata chassis, the rest will use Ashok Leyland chassis. KSRTC is rolling out the specialised Link buses, which are being deployed only on takeover routes, where private buses conducted services earlier. All the new buses will have mobile charging facilities, comfortable seats, CCTV surveillance and on board cameras.
Meanwhile, the Aluva depot has been allocated with a Link Bus (FP) and Mini Bus. “The 35-seater Link Bus has been deployed in the Kanthalloor route (via Munnar, Marayoor, Kovilkadavu). The bus will start from Aluva at 7 am and will proceed to North Paravur. It will then start the schedule to Kanthalloor from there,” the official said.
The FP Link bus will arrive at Aluva 8.40 am and reach Kanthalloor by 3.20 pm. It will start the return journey at 4 pm to reach Aluva at 9.30 pm. The 28-seater Mini bus has been deployed on the Aluva-Tripunithura and Aluva-Infopark routes. The bus leaves for Infopark at 4.10 pm and reaches there an hour later. In the return direction, the bus will leave Infopark at 5.30 pm to reach Aluva by 6.30 pm.
The Perumbavoor depot has been allocated two new buses -- a Link bus and an AC Premium Super Fast. “We’ll get the new buses in two days. We plan to deploy the Link bus to Pathanamthitta, while the AC premium Super Fast will be deployed in the Kottayam-Kottarakkara-Thiruvananthapuram route,” another official said.
The Muvattupuzha depot has one Link FP bus, which has been deployed on the Thekkady route. “The bus leaves Muvattupuzha at 5.30 am and reaches Thekkady at 12.10 noon. In the return direction, the bus proceeds to Kaloor and arrives at the destination at 6.30 pm. It departs back to Muvattupuzha at 7 pm. Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar inaugurated the trial run of the new fleet last month.
The design of the new buses (AC Sleeper-cum-seater & AC Sleeper) with Indian Flag theme was created by G Adhitya Krishnan, an automobile and transport design graduate from Coventry University, England, along with his friend Amal Jokin Salat. Adithya Krishnan is the son of Minister Ganesh Kumar.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan officially launched a fleet of 130 buses across different series on August 21. The KSRTC will roll out a total of 340 new buses in a six-month period.