With five of the eight electric feeder buses out of service, the metro stands to lose commuters from Angamaly, Perumbavoor, Paravur, Eramallor, Fort Kochi, and Vypeen.
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Efforts made by Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) to reach a pact with Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to operate 30 feeder buses from metro stations have reached nowhere, even as five of the eight electric feeder buses of Kochi Metro continue to remain out of service for the second month in succession.
This has in turn resulted in commuters and stakeholders in the public-transport sector reiterating their demand that the metro agency get its act together at least six years after the metro was commissioned (in 2017) and to ready a sound feeder-bus network, considering that the daily patronage in the metro hovers way below the targeted one lakh commuters.
It was 82,000 in June, dampening the hope that commissioning of the Pettah-Thripunithura SN Junction corridor would help attract over a lakh commuters daily.
Even when all the eight electric feeder buses were operating from metro stations to locales in the immediate suburbs, commuters had slammed the metro agency for not deploying them in adequate numbers, since there were 24 stations in the 27-km Aluva-SN Junction corridor.
Informed sources said that the daily energy expense (power requirement) of each e-bus was approximately 400 units, to operate an average of over 200 kms. This worked out to approximately ₹16,000 for the fleet of eight buses.
With KMRL not having to invest anything on capital, operational costs, and wages, it could bear the energy expense since it has invested heavily on solar power generation. This in turn would have a definitive impact on improving footfalls in the metro.
An assurance by the metro agency that Kleen Smart Bus Ltd. (KSBL) would not have to pay the recharging expense from metro stations would help enable their feasible operations. These e-buses are particularly in demand in the Aluva-Cochin International Airport route, especially from air passengers and staff of airlines, they added.
With five of the eight electric feeder buses out of service, the metro stood to lose commuters from Angamaly, Perumbavoor, Paravur, Eramallor, Fort Kochi, and Vypeen.
Metro sources said that efforts are under way to increase the number of feeder buses to at least five, considering the demand from commuters. “We do not have a policy to bear their energy expense. The KSRTC is yet to provide us an update on operating 30 feeder buses we had requested. They would have helped establish first- and last-mile connectivity from metro stations.”
As for Water Metro ferries, discussions are under way to ready a feeder network from boat terminals in the islands that the vessels would call at.
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