Kerala: Private buses seek compensation

Kochi: Private bus owners have demanded that Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) should compensate for any losses incurred for the implementation of the plan being submitted to the Regional Transport Authority to remove 160 private buses off city routes and redeploy them in new mofusil (long distance) routes once Kochi Metro starts operation. “KMRL conveyed to us that 160 of the 630 private buses currently plying on city routes will be rerouted in new long routes, starting from June. This is to make the metro operation profitable. However, we demand that KMRL should meet the losses incurred on buses being rerouted on new unviable routes,” said K.B. Suneer, district General Secretary, Private Bus Operators Association.

The routes identified by the metro agency include Paravur, Kodungallor, Perumbavoor and Chottanikkara where currently private buses are operating from Kaloor and High Court Junction, he said. “The cancellation and rerouting will be done mostly in the Aluva-Kochi section as of now. There is no point in operating private buses at a five-minute interval once metro train operations begin. The proposed UMTA (Urban Mass Transportation Administration) too plans to effect a cut in private buses and other vehicles that are hired to woo maximum riders to the modern transport system and decongest the city,” a senior metro official said. As far as the long distance permits are concerned, a total of 714 permits will be allocated instead of the current 573, he said. Meanwhile, the private bus owners have so far formed six societies based on the directions of KMRL for easy implementation of decisions regarding timing and schedules.