Bus shelters could soon get a facelift

As many as 210 bus shelters in the city could soon get a facelift with better seating and lighting arrangements as the Corporation has decided to hand them over to private for development and maintenance.

The move comes amidst a Corporation initiative to attract private sponsors to renovate the bus shelters, traffic islands and parks as part of the city beautification initiative.

The district authorities have already had a series of meetings with private sponsors, at the behest of N.R.Sivapathi, Minister for School Education, Law, Youth Welfare and Sports. According to sources in the corporation, the civic body has finalised the designs, estimates, and allocation of sites to private sponsors for development.

Of the 240 bus shelters in the city, 210 would be handed over to private sponsors for development and maintenance through a tendering process.

The Corporation Council recently approved a move to hand over the shelters for development and maintenance for a period of three years on a build, operate and transfer basis.

The private sponsors or companies would be entitled to use two-thirds of the space for their advertisements and rest should be left of the disposal of the Corporation for putting up awareness slogans or advertisements.

As per the conditions laid by the Corporation, the sponsors would be required to provide aesthetically designed shelters with rust-resistant material to international standards.

They would be required to provide clocks, ramps, handrails, drinking water supply, proper lighting, a dustbin and mobile phone charger.

The shelters should be differently-abled friendly and with special arrangements for the visually challenged.

The sponsors would be required to begin the development works within 15 days on the award of the tenders.

The Corporation has already roped in a few private agencies for developing some of the traffic islands in the city and the work is underway in half-a-dozen traffic islands.