Thiruvananthapuram: Bus stops violate rules of the road

Thiruvananthapuram: The addition of new bus stops along roads under the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP) by the traffic authorities and elected representatives ha-ve irked Trivandrum Road Development Corporation Ltd (TRDCL) - the concessionaire of CRIP. 

According to TRDCL several unscientific bus stops have sprouted along the stretch violating the norms set by Indian Road Congress (IRC). According to IRC codes, bus stops should be constructed 500 metres apart.

TRDCL Project Director Anil Kumar Pandala said that as part of the city road improvement project TRDCL has provided around 94 bus bays. Apart from this, the elected representatives and traffic authorities have added around 30 to 35 bus stops along CRIP roads.

“IRC code clearly says that there should be a minimum of 500 metre distance between each bus stops. This rule is being blatantly violated by the authorities. Adding more bus stops will only make things worse and the city badly needs professionally qualified squad to manage traffic. It’s really foolish to think that adding more bus stops will help ease traffic,” said Mr Pandala.  He said that TRDCL took up the issue with the higher authorities many a time but no steps were taken to control the number of bus stops.

However, traffic authorities say that bus stops are necessary for effective traffic management. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) South M.K. Zulfikar said that more bus shelters help decongest traffic.

“We are struggling to manage city’s traffic situation especially during peak hours. Many spots in the heart of the city including Palayam and Statue get congested during peak hours especially when multiple buses arrive at the same time at the bus stops. This has forced us to introduce more bus stops to facilitate the passengers and other commuters as well,” said Mr Zulfikar.

He said that it’s impractical to apply the 500 metre rule by IRC here. “It’s easy for foreign and other developed countries to follow such rules, here situation force us to make such changes so that commuters and traffic are at ease,” he added.