Thiruvananthapuram, Thursday 05 November 2009: Low-floor buses will start running in the city on November 11, Transport Minister Jose Thettayil said.

Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan will flag off the buses, Thettayil said.
In the first-phase, eight air-conditioned buses will start plying in Thiruvananthapuram, four buses on the Kovalam-Kaniyapuram route, and two buses each on the Sasthamangalam-Airport and the Kowdiar-Airport routes.

A decision on running the low-floor buses in Kochi will be taken after the by-elections, the Minister said. Buses plying on the Kovalam-Kaniyapuram route will touch Thiruvallam, East Fort, Medical College, Sreekaryam, Technopark and Kazhakootam.

The Sasthamangalam-Airport service will touch Vazhuthacaud, Cantonment, Palayam and Shangumugham. The Kowdiar-Airport service will touch Palayam, Cantonment, East Fort, Eanchakkal, Bypass, Chakkai and Shangumugham.

The buses have a seating capacity for 38 passengers. 25 percent of the seating capacity will be allowed to travel standing. The bus crew will have the same uniform as that of the KSRTC Volvo service. Twenty employees including drivers have been specially trained for running the buses in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi.

The fare for the low-floor buses has not been fixed yet, the Minister said. While the Government is considering several fare rates, a final decision on this will be taken by the Cabinet, he said.

Meantime, the question of who will manage the low-floor bus service remains unanswered. The low-floor buses are being introduced under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) of the city corporation.

Until a decision is taken, the KSRTC will be managing the service, the Minister said.More services will be started once the non-air conditioned buses are rolled out. The construction of a bus terminal at Eanchakkal will start soon, the Minister said.