Kochi: With the KSRTC and private buses to same destinations commencing journeys from opposite ends of the Vytilla Hub, commuters are often forced to shuttle from one end to other, adding to confusion. Now the Vytilla Mobility Hub Society (VMHS) has decided to install a public address system so to announce the bus timings. This is expected to ease the grievance of commuters.
VMHS has asked both the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and the private bus operators to give them schedules of buses currently operating through the hub. “Some of the services that were there initially to places like Adimali are not being operated now. We asked for existing schedules so that we can start the PA system. There should not be any situation when we announce the bus and it's not coming,” said a senior VMHS official.
"The private buses, especially to Vaikom area, often delay the trips and starts just before the service operated by the KSRTC in the route. This forces us to spend much time in the stationed private bus and the KSRTC runs almost empty. The speeding of the buses is another problem," reads a complaint filed by an office employee of the Ernakulam Deputy Transport Commissioner Office with the VMHS.
Another complaint of the commuters is with regard to unauthorized trip cancellations indulged in by private buses during non-peak hours, especially during night. "Though there are schedules till 9.30 pm, the buses often stop service two hours earlier as the collection will be less at that time. However, this adversely affects commuters arriving from far-way places in super class buses. They won't get connectivity to travel to the city and forced to look for other options," the official said.
