KOCHI: Extending his support to the Kochi Public Transport Day campaign, which encourages people to optimise public transport, Transport Minister A K Saseendran on Thursday took an autorickshaw and travelled by private bus on arriving here.It is to ink the pact between Axis Bank and seven private bus operators’ societies, for extending the Kochi 1 card’s coverage to private buses, the minister came down here. After arriving at the Ernakulam South Railway station by train at 9.45 am, Saseendran took an autorickshaw to reach Manorama Junction from where he boarded a bus to get down at Boat Jetty bus stop on Shanmugham Road.
He then walked from there to the Ernakulam Guest House.
Encouraging the public to use public transport on the first Friday of every month, Saseendran said:
“The increasing road accidents and the frequent traffic snarl-ups owing to the rise in the number of private vehicles hitting the road warrant the need of using public transport more.” D Dhanuraj, chairman, Centre for Public Policy Research, who accompanied the minister, said:
“We hope what began as a monthly observance will encourage increased use of public transport by Kochiites instead of relying on private vehicles.” Kochi Public Transport Day is a year-long campaign spearheaded by the Centre for Public Policy Research, residents’ associations, various industry bodies and civil society organisations in Kochi to promote and study public transport usage in the city.