Private buses not people friendly

KOCHI: Various outfits are observing Bus Day to encourage people to depend less on their vehicles and to use public transport to decongest the city roads. But this is  not possible when the buses do not stick to their schedule and are not people-friendly. Most of the people prefer using their own vehicles due to various reasons like private buses suspending operations midway at Thevara and other places. According to a resident of Fort Kochi the only remedy to this is to introduce a punching centre at Thoppumpady.The Assistant Commissioner of Traffic West Prem Kumar said that punching stations are set up and operated by private bus operators association. The matter can be discussed at the meeting with the Regional Transport Officer and bus operators soon, he said. The private buses are not supposed to suspend services. The people can alert the police over phone at traffic police or at 100 about any bus not sticking to its schedule.Another Bus Day is slated for May 31 at Fort Kochi organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry as part of its plans to hold more such bus days in the coming days.But to lure people towards private buses would require steps like making public transport more effective, punctual and the bus crew more disciplined. The people from West Kochi area working in the city and the neighborhood struggle to travel in buses going to Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Palluruthy, Edakochi, Perumpadapu, Chellanam, Kannamaly and other areas for poor transport facility.  The buses are filled to the brim from 7 pm to 9 pm. The women travellers are the mercy of antisocial elements. The last bus to West Kochi side is at around 9 pm. If the bus is cancelled due to some reason, the people will have to depend on autorickshaws and hitch hiking to reach their destinations.According to sources in Regional Transport Office the punishment for curtailing service will invite a penalty of Rs 5000 for big busesand Rs 4000 for smaller ones. Curtailing of buses three times in a row will lead to suspension of permit, the sources said. The sources said the RTO officials conducts surprise checks. The sources sought the cooperation of the public to help up trace the erring bus crew. However, the controlling Inspector Joy of KSRTC claimed that the state owned buses are very disciplined. He said the KSRTC buses never curtailed operations unless it is unavoidable situation like accident. They do so only by taking permission from the authority concerned.