State-of-the-art bus shelters at Panchkula soon

Complete with manned ATM kiosks, water dispensers and CCTV cameras, nine bus shelters will be set up under Phase 1 of the first-of-its-kind project being executed by the Panchkula MC.

Panchkula is set to become Haryana’s first district to get modern and passenger-friendly ‘smart’ bus shelters.

Complete with manned ATM kiosks, water dispensers and CCTV cameras, nine bus shelters will be set up under Phase 1 of the first-of-its-kind project being executed by the Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC).

Salient features 

The new bus shelters will be equipped with electronic display boards to display the estimated time of arrival of buses. The new design also includes space for ATM kiosks, water dispensers, CCTV cameras and a small eatables counter. A security guard will be deputed to man the ATMs.

Panchkula city has 26 bus shelters. Under Phase 1 of the project, nine bus shelters will be razed and reconstructed with the new design. Of these two will be set up by next month to establish viability and cost of the remaining shelters.

Navdeep Asija, road safety and sustainable transport consultant for the project, said, “The proposal for the new bus shelters and their designs had been approved by the MC. The old shelters that have become unsafe over the years will be demolished and replaced with modern concrete shelters.”

Panchkula MC commissioner Rajesh Jogpal said, “MC will set up two sample bus shelters by May end. Thereafter, the project will be reviewed for the total cost and viability before floating tenders for other bus shelters. In phase 1, nine of the total 26 bus shelters in Panchkula city will be reconstructed.”

Earlier under the control of the Haryana Urban Development Authority, the bus stops were transferred to the corporation in 2008.

Meanwhile, MC has started demolishing unsafe bus stops in the city, razing nine of them as of Saturday.