CHENNAI: The city corporation is in the process of assigning a private party with expertise in engineering, to enumerate and document the condition of the city corporation’s 961 bus shelters.
The independent engineer will survey all the existing bus shelters, except those that are operated under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model, record its location with the landmark and document the general condition of the shelter in four categories – good, fair, poor or needs repair.
More specifically, the stability of the footing of the bus shelter will be assessed, including recording any traces of corrosion. The engineer will also assess the structure against the existing standards to check if the roof covers the entire structure for reliable protection against sun or rain, existence of a ramp provision with a 1:20 slope ratio for persons with disabilities along with a stainless steel handrail on both sides, and the seat height which is to be maintained at 450 mm from the ground.
The enumeration and assessment also includes maintaining a record of the supporting poles used in each bus shelter and the condition of the footpath flooring which is to be paved with hydraulic pressed anti-skid tiles.
According to corporation officials, the condition of the roof, floors and seating facilities will be documented separately under a ‘Improvements required’ head.The shelters will also be assigned unique serial numbers and geospatial coordinates. This is being taken up in order to maintain a centralised documentation of the existing condition of the bus stops and to get expert suggestions.
The deadline for the assessments is set at 30 days from the issue of the work order and an amount of Rs 1,000 for each of the 961 bus shelters has been set aside by the civic body.