PANAJI
As Panaji remains at crossroads over making it to the third round of the Smart City proposal at the Centre, transport systems within the city are expected to get into gear and go the 'green' way.
Of the well known plans of pedestrianisation of the 18th June Road and building certain parts of the main roads as cycling tracks, the introduction of a hop-on hop-off system of bus services was also part of the plan.
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) along with consultant ICLEI South Asia have narrowed down on introducing 53 new buses and at the last stakeholders meeting, it was announced that 10 per cent of the buses would run on electricity while the others would use CNG.
“We are trying to make the city as eco-friendly as possible. It was decided not to use any petrol or diesel-run buses but instead introduce CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) buses. 10 per cent of the other 53 new buses will run on electricity,” said CCP Commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues at the meeting.
Also as part of the proposal, the 78 buses that currently ply along the city roads will be removed for easier access. Rodrigues said, with plans of cycling stations and pedestrian footpaths on anvil, need for efficient and quick bus services is important.
“There are around 78 city buses that ply everyday and each takes anywhere between half-hour to 45 minutes from the bus stand to Miramar. This is unacceptable because it is barely a 15-minute distance. In addition, there are buses that come from Curca and Porvorim, which take the number to over 100 buses a day. The 53 buses in the Smart City proposal will move quickly and be more efficient than the current system,” he said.
Rodrigues, however, hastened to add that the process would be a long and tedious one as private bus operators would have to be taken into confidence so that they do not feel the pressure of having to get rid of their vehicles.
Installing eight new bus lines and four new bus stops along with a complete redesign of the Kadamba bus stand has also been planned as part of the consultant’s smart city project.
