Land taken posession of for bus stand for JNNURM buses in Udupi

Land taken posession of for bus stand for JNNURM buses in Udupi

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Dec 26, 2015:  The district administration handed over 34 cents of land belonging to the Department of Public Instruction to the  KSRTC Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, one more hurdle before the functioning of 30 low-floored buses under the JNURM - Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission has been cleared.

The city bus service has been managed by the private sector here for decades. There are about 90 private city buses which do about 534 trips in Udupi and its surroundings daily. In spite of this, there has been a long-pending demand for low-floored buses in the city.

But one of the biggest hurdles for the low-floored buses was the lack of a bus stand. The present city bus stand, where private buses are parked, is congested and cannot accommodate any more buses.

The land for a bus stand for low-floored buses was handed over to the KSRTC about two months ago. Deputy Commissioner R. Vishal said the objective was to provide better public transport so that people’s dependency on private transport was reduced.

“People will get better facilities from high quality low floored buses. Senior citizens and students will be able to get bus pass facilities. Since the bus stand will come up in the heart of the city, it will help most people. We want to improve connectivity in the city,” he said.

The ground-level work and razing of structures at the Old DDPI office is expected to start shortly. Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, said that in the first phase, a temporary bus shelter would be built after the completion of ground levelling works so that the low floored buses could be introduced as soon as possible.

In the second phase, a modern bus stand would be built under public-private partnership mode. “This bus stand will have parking facility and commercial shops,” he said.

The Regional Transport Authority had issued 12 route permits for 30 low-floored buses in March, this year. “Once the KSRTC informs us about the buses it is going to start after the bus stand is ready, we will give timings for it,” said S.B. Surendrappa, Senior Regional Transport Officer.

“We have already informed our head office in Bengaluru about the need for a bus stand for low floored buses,” said Vivek Hegde, Divisional Controller, KSRTC, Mangaluru Division.

“We want these buses as it is easier for senior citizens and women to get in and out of them,” said Laxmi Bai, social worker.