THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city lacks adequate bus shelters. To make matters worse, the new bus shelters which are being constructed as part of the City Road Improvement Project (CRIP) are inviting much criticism owing to their least regard for the differently-abled. The seating arrangement is in such a way that a differently-abled person will find it difficult to use. As many as six bus shelters have come up in various parts of the city. Construction of 30 more bus shelters are expected to begin soon. However, the city prefers a change in the seating arrangement as it is not user-friendly. The seats are arranged in such a way that they give support only to the legs. And this is not enough to give support to the handicapped. Also, the capacity of the bus shelters is too small, when compared to the volume of passengers at busy junctions. According to Anil Kumar Pandala, project director of CRIP, the design of the city bus shelters are similar to those in other states. “The seating arrangements are similar in other places also. If there is a complaint against the height of the seating, we are ready to change. But it is difficult to provide better seating facilities. After dusk, the bus shelters will be occupied by miscreants and it would be difficult for the women to wait at bus shelters. If better seating facilities are provided, the jobless and other miscreants will occupy the space,” he said. “The bus shelter in front of the Ayurveda College Junction is occupied by wayside eateries during night,” he added. Commuters abandon the bus shelters in front of SMV School and Ayurveda College as buses still stop two-three feet ahead of the marked bus bays. Also, the space in front of bus shelters is a parking lot for cars and taxis.
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