Transport department issues final notification for city entry of private buses from Goshree islands

Transport Dept. has issued a final notification allowing private buses from Goshree Islands to enter the city, after two decades. This fulfills a promise made by K.N. Unnikrishnan, MLA, in his poll manifesto. The notification follows legal procedures and will benefit 25 lakh people in Vypeen and beyond, who rely on private vehicles due to lack of bus access.

The Transport department has published the final notification to permit the city entry of private buses from Goshree islands, K.N. Unnikrishnan, MLA, informed in a release.

This comes after around two decades of the commissioning of the trio of Goshree bridges. Ever since the bridges were commissioned in 2004, commuters had to either depend on the few KSRTC buses or private vehicles to reach their destinations in the city since private buses from the islands had to terminate their trips at High Court Junction. This was mainly because a few routes were nationalised, wherein only the KSRTC could operate trips.

“The final notification was issued in line with all procedures mentioned in the Motor Vehicles Act. It is heartening that an issue that had been mentioned in my poll manifesto has been realised. It took time since many legal aspects had to be overcome,” Mr. Unnikrishnan said.

Bus operators and other stakeholders had sought clarification on a host of issues soon after Transport Minister Antony Raju directed the department earlier this month to issue a final notification permitting the city entry of private buses from the isles. It is estimated that around 120 private buses operate from the isles to High Court Junction.

Bus operators and others had also sought clarity on a host of issues, including whether buses that operated 25 km from the isles would be further permitted into the city. They had also sought clarity on whether buses would be permitted to operate distances beyond that mentioned in their permits.

Approximately 25 lakh people reside in Vypeen alone. It would be in addition to a few lakh people from beyond who would benefit if the buses were given access on city routes.

Bus operators and commuters were keenly awaiting the speedy issuance of the final notification since tens of thousands of commuters employed in different parts of the city and others depended mainly on private vehicles due to impediments to city entry of buses.