Wait for low floor circular service to Vyttila continues

KOCHI: The wait of the commuters for low floor circular services on Vyttila-Vyttila route will continue as the city depot of KSRTC is having a shortage of buses and crew.
A KSRTC official said that though three low-floor buses had arrived in the depot in November last year, they were allotted to other routes.
“Three of the six buses that were allotted to the city in November were lying unused in the depot.Since there was shortage of buses in some other routes, we had to use these buses in those routes,” the official said.
P I Sheik Pareeth, district collector and RTA board chairman said that the permits to begin six services had been granted after a series of discussions with the motor vehicles department, representatives of private bus operators and the KSRTC.
“At present, there are no objections for allotting the permits for services in the specified route. Once the buses arrive, they can start the services,” he said. The buses allotted under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Rural Mission (JNNURM), would conduct services from 6 am to 10 pm, officials said. Besides non-availability of buses, the staff crunch is also affecting services. A senior official in the transport corporation hinted said that Ernakulam depot had a shortage of about 70 employees to run regular services in the city.
“There is an immediate need to recruit more staff to facilitate the operation of new buses including the six services in Vyttila-Vyttila route and about 15 services in various other routes. We have approached the employment exchange for recruiting 500 drivers and 325 conductors on daily wages in the district,” the official said.
Shortage of buses and staff cited as main reason. Though three low-floor buses arrived in the depot in November 2011, they were allotted to other routes.