KOCHI: As public transport is slated to begin on Wednesday, KSRTC has decided to run 200 buses in the district, including on private bus routes. Meanwhile, private buses will resume services in June.“A total of 200 buses will be operated across the district. Most of them will conduct services between 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm as per the working hours of government offices. We are considering the first day as a trial run and will reschedule upcoming services after getting the response of passengers,” said V M Thajudheen Sahib, District Transport Officer. Before the lockdown, KSRTC operated 50 services daily in the district.
The service will commence from various parts of the district and culminate at High Court Junction, Menaka and Kakkanad. Apart from 30 ordinary services from Ernakulam depot, several buses will originate from Perumbavoor, Angamaly, Aluva, North Paravur, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Poothotta, Koothattukulam and Piravom. There will be no AC buses. Only two passengers will be allowed in a seat for three while one passenger will be permitted in the double seat. Mask will be compulsory for the passengers.“To avoid contact, we are planning to introduce ticketless travel by receiving payment online. For now, passengers should carry exact change to limit cash transactions,” he said.
Buses to skip stops
“As we have to stick to the 50 per cent seating capacity rule, buses won’t be able to take passengers from all stops. “We can only allow 30 passengers in a service. I urge people to cooperate with us,” Thajudheen said.
Additional challenge
It will be a challenging time for KSRTC as it also has to transport people arriving at the Kochi airport and railway station. “There are four flights and a train scheduled on Wednesday. We have to operate at least 40 buses from airport and railway stations alone. Even then, we have kept enough staff on reserve in case of emergency,” Thajudheen said.
Repairing time for private buses
With the buses remaining idle during the lockdown, private bus owners are looking to press them into service after completing the repairs. “Though the government hasn’t fully agreed to our demands, we will start our operations accordingly from the first week of June. We require more than a week to repair the bus. Besides, the extension of the annual insurance scheme and other paper works also need to be completed,” said K B Suneer, general secretary, Ernakulam Private Bus Owners Association.
KSRTC to relaunch prepaid travel cards
T’Puram: KSRTC is reintroducing travel cards for cashless payment to reduce the hassle of exchanging currency notes. Passengers can purchase the card from the conductor by paying a minimum card value of D100 or its multiples. The passenger can also top up the card by paying as low as D10. The card will be introduced on pilot basis in buses to the Secretariat from Neyyattinkara and Attingal on Wednesday. It will be extended to other bus routes soon, said Transport Minister A K Saseendran who launched the cards on Tuesday. The KSRTC first introduced prepaid cards in January 2018.