Bus shelters mushroom in Kochi

Kochi: Not one of the many plans for building public toilets in the city ever took off but the case is different when it comes to bus-shelters: you have too many of them. And the reason is simple: there is big money to be made.   Now, let’s take a count: there are three bus shelters side-by-side before the Government Girls High School at Ernakulam South, two at Subhash Park, three at Menaka, two at High Court Junction towards Vypeen area, two before St Alberts College... the list of multiple bus shelters for a single bus stop in the city is bit long.

Whether the bus shelters enjoy passenger patronage is another question: “Commuters don’t use the two shelters before the Ernakulam Girls High School,” a teacher of the school, who pleaded anonymity, said. “The buses still halt 100 metres before the bus-shelters before the school gate and commuters can be seen crowded there.” Similar is the case with the one opposite the CMFRI campus and the one at High Court junction.

They become inaccessible to passengers as vehicles are parked before them, hindering passenger movement. And why the shelters prop up so frequently? The catch lies in their use as ad space, and most of them are built in such a way that they can display big ads. A majority of the new found bus-stops are set up by the Pratheeksha Bus Shelters Kerala Ltd (PBSKL), a subsidiary of the Public Works Department. “Usually the bus shelters are set up by the local bodies and here in Kochi, it should be done by the Corporation,” said Deputy Mayor T.J. Vinod.

“The previous government had given permission to the PWD subsidiary to set up the same at the roads maintained by them. However, the Chitoor Road and the South railway station Road are all maintained by the corporation. We’ll probe how they set up two bus shelters side by side before the Ernakulam Girls High School without the permission of the Town Planning section. Necessary action will be taken after that.”

Former Mayor Tony Chammany accused the PWD subsidiary of acting at the behest of ad lobby. “The corporation should immediately dismantle the shelters since the said bus stop is located along the one maintained by the corporation. They have sub-leased the ad space to various advertising agencies. However, there is no clarity on the utilisation of the revenue thus collected. Whether they are constructing roads or road repair activities should be made clear,” he said. PBSKL officials could not be reached for comments.