Kozhikode: New route plan for buses soon

Kozhikode: Regional Town & Country Planning office has released the project report on city bus routing for Kozhikode urban area. A separate report on the bus-bays needed in the city has also been released. Both reports are expected to be a boon for the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) in rationalizing bus routes in the city and also to give a scientific basis while deciding on route permit applications.

Kozhikode Municipal Corporation deputy mayor Meera Darsak handed over the first copy of the reports to district collector U.V. Jose at a function held in the city on Wednesday. The report was prepared by the Planning office in association with the Centre for Transportation Research of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kozhikode.

Though the city is growing rapidly, in many of the places well inside the city limits, the public transport system is still weak. Many of the newly developed areas in the city are devoid of bus routes even though it possesses quality roads. For the last 25 years, the government has not reviewed the number of permits allotted for the city. The study is expected to help the RTA fix new routes according to the need and also to amend the restrictions on the number of permits for buses and autos. The study would also help the police to control traffic effectively and to fix diversions during any emergency.

The report on bus-bays on major roads in the city, which was also released along with the bus routing report, proposes construction of over 250 bus-bays along seven major roads in Kozhikode city in order to ease traffic. The study said that, currently the city had limited the number of stops with bus-bays whereas the scope for improvement was high by making use of the land available, with public and private ownership which could be garnered by giving development incentives. The report has proposed three types of bus-bays based on the land available.

District collector U.V. Jose, who is also the chairman of the RTA, promised that he would take necessary steps for the effective implementation of the report. The report was prepared after two year-long data collection and survey.