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| Deserted Junctions |
The pandemic is witnessing events more than expected ...
Humans all over the world are seriously affected by this worst outspread.
Things are still not under control.
Working Class in every sector is also affected with the impact of pandemic out spread..
One of the worst affected sector is Transportation segment..
Lot of people were depended Public Transport for daily commutation to and from the work place.
Those who were travelling in the public transportation as well as those who employed in the sector are hit by pandemic out break and became job less.
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| Struggling to catch passengers |
The story before pandemic..
The cost wise affordability ,convenience and safety are the major components behind the prominence of Public Transportation facility.
In this southern state, average expenditure for travelling a kilometer by bus is 0.70 paise for City Service with a minimum Rs 8.00 for 2.5 kilometer of distance .The Per Kilometer expenditure is added to the minimum fare.
Average cost to travel in Auto and Taxi are Rs 13 and Rs 17 for each Kilometer of distance, respectively. The minimum charge for Auto is Rs 25 for 1.5 Kilometer. Minimum Charge of Taxi is Rs 175 for 5 Kilometer of distance.
Being these are the Government Approved rate, if a person travels 10 km by city or ordinary bus it will take Rs 15-17 as bus fare and if he uses intermediate transport for one kilometer at both ends, his average travelling expenditure will be between Rs 90-100 and if he use bus only the cost would be between Rs 30/32 to and fro. This will be more economical if the means of travel is by train.
If the Monthly income of a Employee or worker is Rs 10000 /- he /she could afford a spending limit up to 20 % as travelling expenses including intermediate form of transport facilities .
The pandemic changes all these equations. In the absence of Public Transportation ,people are forced to hire vehicles as sole passengers which demand expenditure more than the affordable limits.
Large section of people moved to own a motor vehicle to meet travelling needs.Good share of the money moved to the second vehicles market.People anticipating the safer mode of transport adjusted to prefer cars to two wheelers.
The network consists of Buses ,both in private sector and government sector. Trains, Ferry and also include Air travel and Metro Rail. All these are well connected ,not optimized to the maximum ,but to the satisfaction of travelling public to great extend.
On of the important feature of the transportation network is the rigid connectivity between towns ,villages and other urban agglomerations to the near by main town or city at better means.
As said earlier the economical affordability and availability of better transportation facilities round the clock make the travelling in Kerala very comfortable. However the connectivity to remote places during later hours may be limited to intermediate mode of transport like autos and taxis.
The infrastructure..
The behavior pattern of commuters, in the transportation network in kerala, are almost identical.
The first mile connectivity by walking ,because the bus service is available from very near by places some times direct to the destination or interconnect between services.
In majority of cases last mile connectivity is also by walking because the public transport network is available up to the door step of work place ,some times.
The flexible and economical mode of inter connectivity between these points are also available.
The network in cities are much stronger than the rural areas and small towns, The connectivity between town are much frequent .People preferred both public transportation facility as well as own mode of transport.
In Metro cities additional facilities like Metro Services and water Ferry Services are available.
Train Connectivity is available in almost all the towns except the hilly region in Idukki and Wayanad.
The lock down
The imposed lock down all the transportation network including private mode came to halt . Every thing came to halt. Buses and goods vehicles were parked in the available grounds as well as road side. The workers engaged in this sector were turned jobless. The condition of these workers were pathetic due to loss of work and income.
The demand for transportation facilities were drastically reduced. As a result all these infrastructure came to idle. Which occurred huge loss to operators.
The Government offered support by providing tax exemptions and other rebates.
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