KOCHI: It was cold response from the part of passengers as KSRTC and State Water Transport Department (SWTD) resumed services in Ernakulam after 56-day-long break. With Covid-19 threat still looming, people preferred to travel in own vehicles than depend on public transport modes.In Ernakulam, KSRTC conducted 157 services from 7am to 7pm. The first bus to start from Ernakulam bus station was towards Edakochi at 7 am. Similarly, bus services to Chellanam, Poothotta, Fort Kochi and Puthiyakavu followed. Buses operated from all depots, including Aluva, Angamaly, Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam and Piravom. Around 30 services were operated in Kochi city.
All buses were operated with 50 per cent seating capacity and no person was permitted to stand in the vehicle. “Only before and after office hours did we experience rush. Most of the buses had very few passengers. Buses were operated till district borders. Over 70 bus drivers and conductors were on duty for conducting the services,” V M Thajudheen Sahib, district transport officer, KSRTC, said.
“In the next two to three days, we will get a clear idea about routes to which more buses are to be operated. On some routes in rural areas, people depend on our buses to reach their offices in Kochi. As per the number of passengers, we will divert buses to busy routes,” he said.KSRTC also conducted 40 special service for people arriving at airports and railway stations. The special services were operated to other districts as well. From May 1, KSRTC operated around 360 services to transport people arriving from abroad, other states and migrant workers.
Similar to KSRTC, SWTD also operated boats from Ernakulam to Fort Kochi, Vypeen and Mulavukad. Two boats operated to Fort Kochi and one each to Vypeen and Mulavukad. As many as 32 services were conducted to Fort Kochi, 12 to Vypeen and eight to Mulavukad. “We had enough passengers only between 8am- 10am and 4pm- 6pm. In the afternoon, some boats plied with less than five passengers. We are planning to bring changes in the schedule soon,” M Sujith, traffic superintendent, SWTD Ernakulam, said.