Ernakulam in Kochi declares first Friday of every month as Public Transport Day

Kochi: In a move to make the city pollution-free, the administration of Kochi's Ernakulam district on Friday declared the first Friday of every month as 'public transport day', a step to encourage people to use public transport system for commuting.

As part of Public Transport Day, the officers including the District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla, switched to public transport modes for commuting to work.

"We request people to use public transport like buses or metro. This not only helps us to reduce traffic but also in reducing the pollution," said Safirulla.

He said that over a period of time, this is the only way how sustainable growth of the city can be done. He also urged the young population to choose public transport over bikes and cars.

The administration is also planning to introduce some training methodology for bus drivers and conductors, to teach them about driving etiquette for passengers.

"The Kochi metro serves about 35,000 passengers every day. It has greatly helped us in avoiding peak time congestion and I hope more people will commute on metros," Safirulla said.

The implementation of the public transport system will help to reduce fuel consumption rates as people won't use personal mode of transport.