Mobility hub opens on June 1

KOCHI: Despite the shortcomings, the first phase of the Vyttila Mobility hub will become operational from Wednesday. The KSRTC buses which commence and end their services in Vyttila will be operated from the mobility hub first.Initially, around 60 schedules will be operated from the hub. “We plan to run 60 schedules from the Vyttila mobility hub from Wednesday,” said P L Jose, Zonal Officer, KSRTC.As the the facilities are not enough, operating more buses from the bay will be difficult for the time being. “There are plans to shift the operation of all our services to the mobility hub. But it will take a little more time as we have to make alternative arrangements for the passengers to travel to various parts of the city,” Jose said. There are plans to re-divert the buses running between Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram via Vyttila bypass.  The construction of 13 bus bays have been completed. The first phase of the project was completed using Rs 15-crore, said a senior official of KITCO, the project’s consultants. Each of the bus bays can accommodate five buses. The entry to the hub from the Vytilla-Kaniampuzha Road and exit on the Vytilla-Tripunithura Road are almost through.Once the operations of the mobility hub are in full swing, the regulation of traffic in Vyttila is a major requirement. The authorities haven’t made any arrangements in this regard so far. Though they held some discussions over decongesting the junction, nothing concrete has been done.There are plans to start ferry services from the mobility hub. But, the authorities are yet to start the procedures for starting boat services. They plan to start boat services to Kakkanad, Tripunithura and Nedumbassery.  Though there were plans to arrange a halt for trains at the hub, the response from the Railway was far from rosy. According to the authorities, the work of the second phase will begin after the monsoon season.