something to cheer about. More than two and half years after starting the bus service, NMC has started installation of 200 bus shelters at main locations across the city. The corporation has already installed installed the basic structures at a number of locations. They soon be carrying advertisements, city bus time table and proper sign boards, NMC traffic engineer Nasir Khan informed.
TOI had recently raised the issue of absence of bus stops despite the NMC having awarded the contract to a Pune-based private company Green Thumb Innovators. The contract to design and install 200 bus shelters on build-operate-and-transfer (BOT) basis was awarded on March 2.
Taking cognisance of the report, municipal commissioner Aseem Gupta immediately called a meeting with contractors and approved the new design of the shelters. The company has been given three months to complete the job, a senior NMC official informed.
Khan said that the company had started installation of new design bus shelters as approved by commissioner Aseem Gupta. In the next three months, all the bus shelters with proper time table of bus operations on the particular route will be in place, he added.
"After conducting survey of 397 locations and receiving no objection certificates from deputy police commissioner (traffic) on August 28, 2008, we started installation of shelters. As per traffic police NOC, bus shelter should be 50 metres away from squares or junctions, they should not affect the smooth flow of traffic and no bus shall stop at shelters for more than two minutes," he added.
However, Preeti Mali, a student of LAD college and Starbus commuter, said, "The bus stop installed by the company at LAD college square is not proper. It is not convenient, there is no proper sitting arrangement. But it does give us feel of a metro city."
Finally, commuters to get 200 bus stops in city
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