KOCHI: Bus shelters are the first to suffer when roads and footpaths are renovated. Now, daily commuters at many prominent locations in the city are being forced to wait for buses under the scorching sun, as most bus shelters have been stripped of facilities — either roofs or seats. The bus shelters at the city’s prime locations — High Court and Marine Drive are still dilapidated and passengers have to depend on tree shades or umbrellas of street vendors to shield themselves from sun.
The works pending on Shanmugham Road are delaying the renovation of its bus shelter that was removed for the road works, according to the officials of the Cochin Smart Mission Limited, the agency that is carrying out the renovation works. However, they could not give an exact date as to when the bus shelters at major junctions will be reinstated.
Since buses towards Vyttila and Fort Kochi from Marine Drive have been stopping at different spots along the way to avoid the crowd at bus shelters, the passengers were more at ease, said one of the regular travellers. Commuters complained about the scorching heat they have to deal with because there are no proper bus shelters. The passengers who have to wait for buses to Elamakkara, Chittoor, Kakkanad and Aluva side on Shanmugham Road also suffer a similar fate.
Since shelters were taken away, bus drivers, as well as the passengers, are confused about where to stop and where to wait. At High Court junction, the metallic seats inside the bus shelter are either destroyed or missing. Passengers who have to wait for a long time are forced to stand. For the conversion of these stretches into ‘Smart Roads’, nearly six such shelters have been removed temporarily.