Making Kochi’s private bus routes easier to navigate

Kochi’s private buses connect neighbourhoods and destinations across the city, but it can be difficult to know which bus to take if you are new to the network or cannot read Malayalam route boards. This initiative starts by asking a practical question: can clearer route information make buses easier for more people to use?

Through Martian Days, I’m beginning exploratory work to identify and document existing private-bus routes, their stops and termini, and the variations between services. From that groundwork, I hope to develop a clear route-numbering proposal that passengers can recognize and transport authorities and operators can assess.

The long-term goal is to make verified routes, stops, and destination information easier to find in digital navigation tools such as Google Maps, where the data and agency processes allow. That depends on accurate information and coordination with the people responsible for the network.

This is an independent civic initiative, not an official route-allocation project. I can lead the initial research and propose a system; formal route decisions and implementation belong with the relevant public authorities and bus operators. I’m first seeking to understand whether related work is already underway and who should be involved.

A 2019 report in The New Indian Express discussed the need for route numbers in Kochi and the role of route rationalisation. I’m looking to learn what has changed since then and what data or studies are available today.

If you work with public transport, route planning, mapping, or private bus operations—or if you rely on Kochi’s buses and have ideas about making them easier to navigate—I’d be glad to hear from you at hello@martiandays.com.