NEW DELHI: The Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) has suggested two-approach recommendations to the road transport ministry for resuming public transport post the lockdown. The suggestions come on a day when Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said living with the coronavirus is the new normal.
According to the CRRI, the first approach to resumption of public transport involves the redesigning of infrastructure to ensure social distancing. Some of the measures suggested by the institute include painted markings around bus stops and other areas related to public transport, increase of stoppage time for buses and metros to enable commuters alight and board, separate gates for boarding and deboarding and limiting the number of passengers in the bus or metro.
The institute has suggesting splitting zebra crossings and footpaths into two, with one part for each direction. It has suggested that the Metro displays the number of vacant seats in coaches.“The number of seats vacant within a coach should be dynamically displayed at the respective stations/ coaches on the display boards. CRRI also suggests that commuters should avoid touching the scanning machine using tokens/cards, instead they should keep it at least 10 mm above the scanning point,” it stated.
For e-rickshaws and autos, the institute suggests the use of a plastic sheet to separate commuters from each other and from the driver. The second approach is the reduction of demand while ensuring enhancement of capacity. It recommends the short trips by non-motorised modes of transport while suggesting longer opening times for markets to avoid crowding.