Chennai: MTC plans to woo commuters hit high gear

CHENNAI: In a desperate attempt to attract commuters who have switched to other modes of transport after the fare hike effected in February, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has begun to study the pattern of the commuters’ demands in various sections, particularly in southern suburbs and the IT corridor.

As part of this move, MTC has silently renumbered many short-route buses and extended them to longer destinations which have higher demand. Particularly, buses operated in Tambaram, Sholinganallur, Thuraipakkam,  Kanathur, Siruseri and Poonamallee have been extended and bus numbers changed suddenly, causing commuters a great deal of hardship. For example, 70S operated from CMBT to Kannagi Nagar has been renumbered as 570 C without notice. Many passengers, particularly the daily wagers, who visit the CMBT market and neighbouring areas for work,  have faced difficulties.

“I board 70S buses regularly. On Monday, I was accompanied by my neighbours to reach the market. While returning, I waited at the CMBT bus stand  looking for 70S buses for more than two hours to go to Kannagi Nagar. Then, I took a bus to Thuraipakkam from where I paid Rs 10 to travel by a share-auto to go to Kannagi Nagar. There, I was told I should have taken 570C, which I did not know,” said 45-year-old Stella Mary of Ezhil Nagar.

Similarly, 64P operated from Perambur to Minjur has been renumbered as 164. The 51K (Tambaram East-Siruseri) route bus has been changed as 105A. The 170 ACT (Madhavaram-CMBT) bus number is now 121M.

The MTC has also extended buses to many routes. The T Nagar-Okkiyam Thuraipakkam (19C) buses have been converted into 19B (T Nagar/Saidapet-Kelambakkam) and extended up to  Siruseri, while 51K, from Tambaram East to Navalur, has been renumbered as 105A and extended up to Siruseri. The bus L51 from the CMBT to Ottiyambakkam has been extended up to Keelkattalai, renumbered as 76B. The T Nagar-Kanathur (19H) bus has become 599 and extended up to  Mahabalipuram.  

A senior official of the MTC told Express that the changes of the routes were made as part of a study to assess the pattern of the passengers’ demand. “We aim to  optimise existing resources. Particularly, we are planning to operate more buses to those areas where commuters have high transportation demands and where there is  no competition with other modes of transport such as train. We are planning to extend more buses to those routes,” said the official.

The official added that in many selected routes, the frequency of buses is going to be increased. Particularly in the routes covering Pallavaram, Ottiyambakkam, Outer Ring Road, Keelkattalai, Pallikaranai, Thuraipakkam, Sholinganallur, Semmanjeri, Navalur and Siruseri, more buses will be operated. “There are plans to reduce the frequency of buses from 30 minutes to 15 minutes in routes such as Rajiv Gandhi Salai. Buses with less collection will be diverted to other routes.”As part of this move, except a few services, all buses operated on the IT corridor up to Kelambakkam have been converted into deluxe buses.

Good response

Sale of Rs 1,000 passes has increased to 93,700 in March compared to 85,000 last month. Before the fare hike, the MTC sold 65,000 passes