KOCHI: Putting an end to the long wait of Vypeen residents for direct bus services to the city, Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar on Thursday flagged off 10 KSRTC and four private buses which will conduct direct services from the Goshree islands to various destinations in Kochi.
“As many as 10 KSRTC buses will conduct 28 trips to destinations like Kakkanad, Vyttila, Fort Kochi and Kalamassery Medical College. If the services are profitable, we’ll increase the number of KSRTC buses conducting direct services to 25,” the minister said at a function to launch the services.
The Goshree bridges connecting the mainland to the surrounding islands were built nearly two decades ago, but a decision on private buses from the region conducting direct services in the city seemed far-fetched--till now.
Only recently, a couple of KSRTC buses operated on a trial basis. All other buses used to terminate services at High Court, requiring commuters to board other buses or depend on other modes of transport to reach their destinations in the city.
“The long-cherished dream of the islanders has come true. We’ve been after this for the last over three years. There were several technical and legal issues. So far, the buses operated under the ‘mofussil’ category, which is issued for services in rural areas. It required a change in existing rules and government orders for the direct bus services to become a reality.
Also, there were concerns over the buses adding to traffic-congestion woes. All these resulted in a long delay in allowing direct bus services. The transport department issued the final notification in November 2023 and the permit-allocation process is now complete,” said Vypeen MLA K N Unnikrishnan.
Two buses each from Mala, Kodungallur, North Paravur, Guruvayur and Ernakulam depots will conduct the services.
Meanwhile, there are demands from several quarters to operate more direct city services and extend the routes to cover more areas.
“Even under the revised norms, private buses can only ply 25 km at most. This means the buses can ply till Edavanakkad, and the residents beyond that, including in areas like Pallipuram and Kuzhupilly, would continue to face transportation woes. Four private buses are not sufficient to address commuter woes,” said Rangadasa Prabhu, president, Ernakulam District Residents Association Apex Council (EDRAAC).
Easing travel woes
New city routes from Goshree region
Kalamassery Medical College (via Goshree Chathiyath Road, Lourdes Hospital, Chittoor Temple, Aster Medcity, Kalamassery HMT)
Vyttila & Tripunithura (Kaloor, Kadavanthra)
Kakkanad & Infopark (Kaloor, Palarivattom)
Thoppumpady
Fort Kochi
The first bus (from the new lot of services) will leave Mala at 5 am to reach High Court Junction at 6.30 am before proceeding to Fort Kochi.
The last bus will leave Thoppumpady at 6.50 pm to reach Ernakulam Boat Jetty at 7.20 pm and proceed to North Paravur.
The North Paravur-Kalamassery MC (via Goshree Chathiyath Road) service will leave North Paravur at 9.20 am. On the return trip, the bus will start from Kalamassery MC at 11.30 am