Now passengers waiting to board buses need not be confused anymore. If all goes well, the buses which are plying in the city will carry blue boards bearing the number of the route and destination from today. The project is part of the Unique Numbering System for Bus Routes(UNSBR) in the city which have already been implemented in metro cities in the country.

Buses plying in the city and other parts of the district will implement the UNSBR scheme. The colours of the board will differ based on the places. Using this, the public can identify the buses based on the back ground colours. Similarly, each number on the bus board is unique to a specific route. For example number 1 represents buses which ply towards East Fort. If the bus is plying through the standard route then the board will  sport only one number. The buses which ply through byroutes will bear a subroute number and name. For example a bus going to Medical College ( route number 101) via the standard route of Statue-Palayam-Pattom bears a single number board. But if the bus is taking Kesavadasapuram route to reach medical college the bus will bear the numbers of Medical College (101), Pattom (16) and Kesavadasapuram (17).

The district has been divided into four zones  where each zone will have its unique number. If Thiruvananthapuram city is marked with blue boards, Attingal will bear red boards, Nedumangad will spot green boards and Neyyatingara will bear yellow boards. For those who find the numbers and colours to be confusing, the District Collector who is the implementing authority has assured that information about the routes will be displayed at bus stations. A website (www.tvmbus.com) and a mobile application have been developed for easy access for the public. However, the website is temporary and a permanent site will be developed soon, the District Collector said.

The UNSBR has been devised by the students of management at Kannur University and it has been successfully implemented in Kozhikode and Kannur. In Thiruvananthapuram, it has been implemented by the district administration in association with District Tourism Promotion Council. According to district collector Biju Prabhakar, UNSBR will make it easy for the general public, tourist and those who find difficulty in reading to easily identify the buses. The project is being implemented in different phases. In the first phase 860 bus in the district will be covered. This includes 760 KSRTC bus and 100 private bus. Global positioning system (GPS) will be installed in autos and taxis in the second phase for the safety of women.

News : The New Indian Express

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