Drive to maximise use of public transport
LUCKNOW:The district administration in collaboration with Nagar Nigam and other departments is set to launch a drive to motivate people to make maximum use of public transport.
Officials with the district administration said, the move would not only reduce the traffic congestion on road but would also keep people fit. The initiative is said to be a part of smart city mission’s urban mobility project that aims to boost city’s transport system, making it far better than ever.
“Using public transport indeed is a good thing. Commuting through public transport will surely minimise the traffic and will also yield health benefits to the people,” said Kaushal Raj Sharma, district magistrate, Lucknow.
Sharma said, under the drive, Nagar Nigam and other departments would come forward to motivate officials and commoners. “Besides, the schools and colleges would be roped in to spread the awareness,” he said.
Under the project, the officials from urban development department and other government agencies engaged in the transformation task have identified more than 200 bus stops for the ‘transformation exercise’.
Under the exercise, the bus stops would be transformed into the smart bus shelters as it would be equipped with facilities of all sorts. Officials with urban development department said, the shelters would have free hotspot points that would enable the smart phone users to use internet services; it would have an LED screen that would play news and other information related to city and state; a mobile port, proper seating system that would be similar to that of the metro stations; display board to display the real time location of buses and a lot more. He said all prime routes including Transport Nagar to Charbagh, Charbagh to Gomti Nagar, Polytechnic, Indiranagar, Mahanagar and others would have such shelters.
The agencies would also be
enhancing other basic infrastructure that includes availability of sufficient public transport fleet, improving road and intersection geometry, offering smart parking solutions on road and off road, interchanges and terminals and developing of footpath and cycle tracks. In addition, the agencies would also ensure that the road is pedestrian friendly and encroachment free, and there is cleanliness on roads and parking guidance system.