Nearly 5,000 travel daily on intra-city system
PANAJI
The e-bus service operated in the capital city and its periphery by the State-owned Kadamba Transport Corporation is steadily gaining traction and popularity as a cheap conveyance option and nearly 5,000 travel daily on this convenient intra-city transport system on an average.
In the first 90 days (three months) since it was launched on July 1, Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) said that the KTCL which is operating the service on its behalf, has recorded exactly 4,02,756 ticketed footfalls.
Numbers are also rising month-on-month. The number of users doubled and tripled in August and September months in comparison to the numbers recorded in July, it said, adding that the growth in the number of users will sustain.
Initially in July, this service was operated only on three routes with a fourth route added in August. Now, the service is operational on all the seven routes originally planned, IPSCDL said.
In July, the footfalls were 66,794 which more than doubled to 1,55,904 in August and trebled in September to 1,80,058. Also, collectively the e-buses have traversed a total of 2.21 lakh kilometers -- 43,700 kms in July, 76,213 kms in August and 1.1 lakh kms in September.
The service, which charges passengers Rs 10 or Rs 20 depending on their journey's length, also offers a smart card with which commuters can pay by just tapping the card on a device placed in every e-bus.
By tapping the card one can make payments instantly by just tapping it on a device made available inside the e-buses. As of Tuesday, 300 commuters have opted for this smart card. Also paying through digital payment getaways is also possible by scanning the QR code.
According to IPSCDL managing director and CEO, Sanjit Rodrigues, IAS, the Miramar to Dona Paula and further on to Bambolim route is the most popular more than half (59%) of the total number of paid journeys made were on this route in the July-September period.
The Altinho to Church Square route is also getting a huge response, the data shows.
