GHMC mulls bus shelters

STo develop bus bays with queue system

S30 FOBs also under consideration

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is mulling with the idea of developing bus bays as per Indian Road Congress standards in order to introduce a queue system at APSRTC bus stops under the GHMC limits.

GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar held a meeting with Jitender, Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic), R Dhan Singh, Engineer-in-Chief, GHMC; Y Subramanyam, Advisor, ASCI; Sri Kiran, representative from RTC. Prior to the meeting a field trip was conducted by the officials of the Traffic Police, RTC, GHMC and ASCI to assess the situation. The team visited Grammar School, Abids, Koti; and Osmania Medical College.

The Commissioner said that seating arrangements would be improved in bus shelters along with developing ‘bus bays’. The Committee felt that queue system should be adopted at the terminals where there was physical space available for circulation of buses and for managing multiple sectors on roads and queuing with the support of railings at some important bus bays on the said roads could be taken up.The Commissioner said that every bus and bus shelter needed to be given a unique number in order to link with GPS system and branding of each shelter was required.

There are 864 bus stops, 1611 bus shelters and there is a need to establish around 600 bus shelters for the benefit of commuters. The Commissioner directed the Police and ASCI officials to put up proposals of locations for constructing 30 FOBs (foot over bridges) with transparent elevator (lift) facility immediately so that he would get sanctions in the next standing committee meeting.

The Commissioner further directed the Police and ASCI officials to list out the ‘Labour Addas’, where labour assembles in search of employment. He said that the GHMC wants to set up ‘sheds’ in such locations, so as to protect them from heat and rain. The GHMC wants to appoint one person to register the names of such job seekers in coming days.