The Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA), India’s first legislative-backed transport regulatory body, is in danger of becoming obsolete after only three years since its establishment in November 2020.
Initially aimed at revolutionizing and integrating public transport systems in the city of Kochi, the organization became inactive over the past year. The situation worsened this year when the only two technical experts left their positions due to a lack of administrative support.
As a result, the organization’s managing director, an IAS officer, was left without any assistance to implement decisions made during the board meetings. The failure of KMTA to attract transport stakeholders from Kochi or the government has caused the body to become inactive.
Moreover, the situation became even more concerning because officials from Thiruvananthapuram’s government, who have little idea of the desperate need to improve the public transport system in Kochi, have taken control of KMTA.
In addition, encouraging private buses from the Goshree islands to enter the city and the second phase expansion of the Vyttila Mobility Hub faced uncertainty, which would have had a significant impact on public transport in Kochi.
Also, proposals for a parking management system app and rationalizing bus routes have yet to materialize.
The saddest part is that the lifeless office space within the Revenue Tower, rented for Rs 80,000 per month, has remained unutilized. Proposals to hire experts on a permanent or contract basis were ignored by the state government.
D. Dhanuraj, chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), expressed his disappointment that KMTA failed to contribute to the revised comprehensive mobility plan for Kochi. Other cities in India are progressing rapidly in public transport thanks to efficient decision-making using experts’ assistance. However, KMTA failed to respond to many organizations’ offers to extend their services free of charge.
O.P. Agarwal, a board member of KMTA and author of the National Urban Transport Policy, believes that the organization would have been successful if it had demonstrated its ability to provide the necessary groundwork from the beginning and adapted other departmental personnel instead of waiting for personnel.
Although the situation appears bleak, Agarwal expressed hope, and Transport for London also took decades to become effective.
