Draft notification may play spoilsport with city entry of Goshree buses, feel stakeholders

‘The draft notification dated May 17 to nationalise North Paravur-Cherai-Vyttila and North Paravur-Container Road-Kakkanad corridors will result in only KSRTC buses being able to operate in the corridor’

A draft notification issued by the Transport department to nationalise the 36-km North Paravur-Cherai-Vyttila and the 34-km North Paravur-Container Road-Kakkanad corridors has added to the uncertainty on the city entry of approximately 100 private buses from Goshree islands.

Stakeholders expressed apprehension that the draft notification dated May 17 would result in only KSRTC buses being able to operate in the corridor, once the permit of the existing private buses expired. “This has compounded the much-awaited city entry of private buses from the densely populated region, over 15 years after the commissioning of the trio of Goshree bridges,” said Anil Plavians, general secretary of the Federation of Residents’ Apex Councils in Goshree Islands (FRAG).

The draft notification goes against the overwhelming demand during the past years from Goshree islanders and commuters from areas such as North Paravur to permit city entry of the 100-odd private buses which are now forced to terminate services at High Court Junction. “None of us demanded nationalisation of the routes as it will lead to KSRTC buses, which are not at all reliable, gaining monopoly in the sector. This will only help the ‘lobby’ that is opposed to the city entry of private buses. The KSRTC is ill-equipped to operate in the corridor since it is facing acute shortage of buses,” he added.

Private Bus Operators’ Association (PBOA) North Paravur regional president P.K. Lenin said the worst part was that the draft notification had failed to mention the city entry of private buses, despite demand from passenger associations, NGOs, and residents’ associations during the past around two decades. The demand for buses would go up when the Munambam-Azhikode bridge linking Ernakulam with Thrissur was completed, he said.

The notification was just the opposite of what islanders and commuters were demanding during the past decades, said D. Dhanuraj, chairman of Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), a city-based think tank. “My organisation will give its comments to the government on the notification since it is focused entirely on the KSRTC, which is in no position to operate reliable services,” he added.

The notification specifically refers to excluding private buses from operating in the 11-km Cheranallore-Bolghatty Palace Junction corridor and goes on to say that no fresh permits in the corridor will be issued to private buses.

B.J. Antony, who retired as Senior Deputy Transport Commissioner and an expert in the nuances of route nationalisation, said the 25-km ‘overlapping’ that the notification permitted to private buses would be of little use since the distance from North Paravur to Vyttila and Kakkanad well exceeded this distance. “Even the existing private buses from the corridor will be rooted out if the draft notification became final by mid-June. Ultimately, people from Munambam, North Paravur, Cherai, and Vypeen who commute in buses will have to invest in private vehicles. On the contrary, permitting more buses in the sector will improve patronage for both private and KSRTC buses,” he said.