Kochi: In big relief to thousands of daily commuters travelling from Vypeen Island to the city and its outskirts, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has started ‘Goshree’ chain services in the Vytilla-Njarackal section from Monday.
This means the commuters no longer needs to board two buses to reach their destinations in the city and also can save up to Rs eight in ticket charges.
Nearly one lakh commuters travel to the city from the region daily and mainly depended on private buses. However, the private operators were allowed to run services only till High Court Junction. The passengers need to board another bus to reach their destinations in the city.
The initiative to operate direct services to the city was taken by KSRTC Managing Director M P Dinesh, who had earlier served as the city police commissioner and knew about the travelling woes of Vypeen residents.
“We’ve deployed 12 buses so as to conduct 84 trips to and fro in the section from 5.30 am to 7.30 pm. The buses will be available at a frequency of 10 minutes during peak hours both via ‘Padma’ and ‘Menaka’. The services will also connect the Metro station before ‘Seematti’ at MG Road,” said V M Thaju-deen Sahib, Ernakulam District Transport Offi-cer.
Though the corporation deployed ‘Thirukochi’ se-rvices to the region back in 2011, most of them were stopped later and a few diverted to destinations like Eramalloor. However, KSRTC conducts regular services to the region from Ernak-ulam boat jetty station, near High Court Jn. Junction.
Besides convenience, commuters can enjoy the cost saving factor too. For instance, a passenger travelling from Vytilla to Njarackal had to dole out at least Rs 23 earlier as he/ she had to board two buses – first upto High Court and then to Njarackal. Now passengers can commute the distance for Rs 17 in direct RTC services.
“It’s a great relief for us as we can now avoid taking ‘double’ tickets to reach the city. The RTC should start new services to destinations like Kaloor and Thoppumpaddy too from here,” said Francis Chammany, a resident of Njarackal.
