| Ahmedabad - Amdavadis love their Activas, Pulsars, Swifts and Scorpios. Then there are those who swear by the green autos that populate every gali and nukkad of Ahmedabad. But when it comes to saving money, they could do well by taking an AMTS bus. Convinced of this, a student of National Institute of Design in Paldi is helping his fellow students save thousands of rupees by pointing out the right bus route to their most frequented destinations. Jishnuram CA, a final year student of graphic design, is designing a bus map that will help cut down travel expenses of students from a whopping Rs 2.16 lakh during their fiveyear stay to just Rs 30,000 – a cool save of Rs 1.86 lakh! Jishnuram was working on his year-long classroom project when he found that almost 95 per cent of NID students travel by autos within the city. “Even if three students shared an auto, the expenses were pretty high. By the end of the project, I decided to design a map that will bring down their expenses. Travelling by bus would cost them Rs 500 compared to the Rs 3,600 they spend on autos every month,” said the 25-year-old. The research was conducted between November 2011 and September 2012. It took Jishnuram a year to draw the map featuring places from where budding designers could get raw material like paper, fabric, tools, printers etc for their projects. It also highlighted important points like hospitals, premier institutes, railway stations malls, cinema halls and tourist destinations. “Each route is demarcated using a separate colour. The bus numbers are written in Gujarati as well as English. The map mentions starting and ending point of each route, along with the frequency of buses,” said Jishnuram. There are legends marking the airport, bus stands, bus stops, cinema halls, educational institutes, hospitals, place of interests, railway stations, materials and services. Tying the legend to the logo (a chabutara), the place of interest is marked by a flying pigeon. The 25-year-old said, “Most students come here from other cities and states. They do not know anything about Ahmedabad. This map will help our community find places where we can gain material, inspiration and essential help at a glance.” Rupesh Vyas, head of information technology at NID, said, “When the institute director learnt about Jishnuram’s research findings, he began the initiative to provide this essential service to NIDians. It will be launched next week.” The map will initially be distributed to students for free. It might later be sold at NIDUS, the design outlet, for Rs 20. A student spends Rs 2.16 lakh on auto fare during his 5-year stay at NID. This amount can be reduced to Rs 30,000 if they take a bus. AMTS frequents almost every destination that a design student visits in the city for academic or recreational purposes.
 ►►► I always waited for my friends so we could share an auto and save money. Also, bus numbers are written in Gujarati so I had to ask other people for help. This map is helpful for students at various levels - Kiran Ravindran Product design student  ►►► I know where to source fabrics from, but had no idea about the places I crossed to reach my destination. Taking an autorickshaw was easier but expensive. This map will push us to try public transport - Swathi Rajgopal Textile design student Source: Pune Mirror |
