Kochi: They are just like a family. Commuters of the Alappuzha-Infopark AC low-floor bus, Wi-Fi-enabled by the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd, formed a WhatsApp group to track the bus initially.
Soon the commuters realised that almost all the passengers of the jam-packed Volvo bus are techies working at Infopark and it has provided a wider platform.
“Though we’re working out of the same compound (Infopark campus), we didn’t get to know each other,” says Parvathy Nair, a Wipro staff staying at Eramalloor and the group administrator.
“I was surprised to learn that a lot of techies have now relocated themselves to satellite towns like Cherthala after travelling in the bus. Right from Shyam who boards from Alappuzha to Swathy from Nettoor, now we’re all familiar faces”.
The bus commences its journey from Alappuzha at 7.10 am to reach its destination by 9.15 am. In the evening, it leaves Infopark at 6.30 pm to reach Alappuzha by 8.40 pm.
“I’m the first of the techies to board the bus as early as 7.10 am. And now it’s my duty to update on the running of the bus. A large group of commuters are working moms and dependent on the WhatsApp updates to know the running status. For many, this bus is the only direct option from such long distance,” notes Shyam Lal, another techie working with Naico ITS.
Even the bus crews are members of the group and the techies sent messages through WhatsApp requesting them to wait for them upon getting late to report in the evening.
“The biggest plus point was that we got to know even the family of each other through the group. I was taken aback when I learned conductor Anil Kumar S. is taking home tuitions to students up to Class 12 to supplement his income,” says Sanoj who hails from Thiruvizha and works with TKM Infotech Pvt Ltd.
In a first of its kind initiative, the KMRL is setting up facilities like free Wi-Fi and GPS system in low-floor buses of the Kerala Urban Road Transport Corporation operating through the Kochi city.
The Wi-Fi facility has already been installed on two AC buses – Alappuzha-Infopark and Kottayam-Ernakulam on a trial basis.
