The seven companies that together operate 1,000 private buses in the Greater Kochi area are making efforts to come under one umbrella titled E-bus Confederation Company in keeping with the Centre’s plans to have only electric vehicles for public transport by 2030, K.B. Suneer of Kochi Wheelz United company has said.
Speaking at the launch of the extension of Kochi-1 prepaid cards to 50 private buses here on Saturday, he said that a memorandum has been submitted to Chief Secretary Tom Jose seeking steps to constitute such an e-bus company on public-private-partnership basis. This will help avail subsidy that was announced for e-vehicles that are used for public transport.
Principal Secretary (Transport) K.R. Jyotilal said that a Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi hovercraft service is on the anvil and it would take just over 2.5 hours to cover the distance.
The KMRL has helped constitute the biggest autorickshaw society in India, covering 15,000 autos, said A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, MD of the metro agency. The open-loop, tap-and-pay, interoperable EMV card is the first of its kind in India, said Sanjeev Moghe, executive vice president of Axis Bank, which has co-introduced it with KMRL.
As an initial offer for bus commuters, the bank would provide 100% discount on the card fee of ₹150 for a month, while bus operators would provide a 5% discount on tickets purchased using the card. This is in addition to the 20% discount on Kochi metro rides and 33% discount on season tickets for the metro. Commuters also benefit from offers from select merchant outlets.
Card holders will also be able to use the lounge at Kochi airport for a few air trips.