The steep rise in bus tickets in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has forced the commuters to opt for suburban train travel, which is turning out to be the cheapest public transport facility available in the city.
Though the State government has announced rollback of bus fares by ₹1 on Sunday, the commuters do not see any benefit in the rollback.
People are finding the suburban train services to be not only cheap but also more dependable. Commuters find the suburban train to be less congested and more convenient.
A senior official of Southern Railway said there had been a big increase in the passenger population during the week from January 20 to 26, with an additional 2.40 lakh passengers using the suburban train services leading to a revenue of ₹1.81 crore across all sections, including the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). Similarly there has been a jump in the number of season tickets also, he added.
M. Thirugananam, a resident of Ambattur, said the cost of ticket on an average works out to not more than ₹25 to reach his office in Mylapore against the bus fare of ₹50 as per the new bus fares.
The Chennai Division on an average operates 700 services daily covering 75 stations in Chennai and its vicinity.
