KOCHI: Following a successful month-long trial run, the fully air-conditioned electric feeder buses of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) will start regular operations from next week.
The 33-seater buses will initially be deployed on five routes - Aluva-Airport, Kalamassery-Medical College, High Court-MG Road circular, Kadavanthra-K P Vallon Road circular, Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Infopark-Kinfra park, and Collectorate.
While tickets will be priced at Rs 80 for the Aluva-Airport section (nearly 12 km), commuters will be charged Rs 20 for a five-km journey on other routes.
“The KMRL purchased 15 e-feeder buses as part of efforts to improve first and last-mile connectivity to metro train services. The buses have all facilities, including comfortable seating, to provide a travelling experience similar to our trains,” KMRL managing director Loknath Behra said.
Authorities are planning a formal launch on January 15. “We’ve to check passenger patronage on different routes. These buses are costly. We’ve spent more than Rs 15 crore to acquire the vehicles and prepare the infrastructure. We’ll operate the buses for three months before we launch a tender to entrust the operation to an agency,” he told TNIE.
The buses will conduct services on the Airport-Aluva route at an interval of 20 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes during non-peak hours. While the first service from Aluva to Airport will be at 6.45am, the last service from Airport to Aluva has been scheduled for 11pm.
Similarly, the buses will be available on the Kalamassery-Medical College stretch at a gap of 30 minutes. The service will be available from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm.
The buses will ply on the Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Kinfra-Infopark route from 8 am to 7 pm, at an interval of 25 minutes. Similarly, the Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Collectorate buses will run every 20 minutes, from 8 am to 7.30 pm.
‘Metro Connect’ services will be available on the High Court-MG Road circular route at an interval of 10 minutes, from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm, while services on the Kadavanthra-KP Vallon Road-Panampilly Nagar circular route will be available every 25 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm. A maximum of 40 passengers will be allowed to travel in a feeder bus.
“A total of four feeder buses will be deployed on the airport route and three buses on the High Court route, while two buses each will be operated on the Kalamassery-Medical College and Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Collectorate stretches. One bus each will be run on the Infopark and Kadavanthra routes. Two buses will be kept as spare,” said Gokul T G, additional general manager (urban transport).
The buses will ply on the Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Kinfra-Infopark route from 8 am to 7 pm, at an interval of 25 minutes. Similarly, the Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Collectorate buses will run every 20 minutes, from 8 am to 7:30 pm.
‘Metro Connect’ services will be available on the High Court-MG Road circular route at an interval of 10 minutes, from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm, while services on the Kadavanthra-KP Vallon Road-Panampilly Nagar circular route will be available every 25 minutes from 9 am to 7 pm. A maximum of 40 passengers will be allowed to travel in a feeder bus.
“A total of four feeder buses will be deployed on the airport route and three buses on the High Court route, while two buses each will be operated on the Kalamassery-Medical College and Kakkanad Water Metro terminal-Collectorate stretches. One bus each will be run on the Infopark and Kadavanthra routes. Two buses will be kept as spare,” said Gokul T G, additional general manager (urban transport).