Commuters demand more bus services at MVD’s ‘Janakeeya Sadas’ meetings in Ernakulam district
Alarmed at the shortfall in the number of public transport buses, commuters and others who have been attending ‘Janakeeya Sadas’ meetings organised by the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) at the level of sub regional transport offices (RTO) in Ernakulam, are seeking restoration and augmenting of bus services on routes with inadequate or no public transport.
The meetings began in the district with one hosted jointly by the MVD and the North Paravur municipality on July 22, while one at Thripunithura is set to be held on August 3 (Saturday) at the PWD Rest House. People’s representatives, including the MLA concerned, officials of the MVD, police, Revenue department, PWD, and civic bodies and representatives of residents’ associations, KSRTC, bus operators and workers’ unions have been attending the meetings and demanding issuance of new bus permits to cater to commuters’ demands.
Vinod Kumar N., Motor Vehicle Inspector at the North Paravur Sub RTO, said around 400 people had attended the Janakeeya Sadas held at the town hall. “A total of 98 proposals demanding bus services on less-connected routes were submitted by individuals, residents’ associations, arts and sports clubs, panchayat presidents, and other people’s representatives. They will be vetted and pursued at different levels, based on which permits will be issued,” he added.
Official sources said the meetings were being organised on the instructions of Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar, in order to extend KSRTC and private bus services to emerging residential and commercial areas. “Inadequate public transport often results in people from these places depending on private vehicles or autorickshaws to reach their destinations. This is worsening congestion in towns and cities across Kerala, while the undue competition between KSRTC and private buses has resulted in the number of public transport buses from both the categories dwindling from over 35,000 over 20 years ago to approximately 11,000 at present. This has to change and both services must be able to co-exist.”
Citing the relevance of holding such stakeholder meetings wherein members of the public can demand their rightful share of buses on routes that they prefer, a senior MVD official said most private bus operators were keen to apply for permits to operate on such routes. “But KSRTC officials often play spoilsport by opposing issuance of such permits to private buses, saying that the services will operate through nationalised routes where the KSRTC has monopoly. On their part, they fail to deploy adequate number of KSRTC buses on such routes, while even the few services it operates are most often irregular,” he added.
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