More bus services sought from Iyyanpanthangal terminus

With buses from Iyyanpanthangal terminus running packed, commuters have demanded that the services be scaled up. They particularly want the number of services to Tambaram, Guindy, Anna Salai and Broadway to be increased.

Besides residents of Iyyanpanthangal, those from a dozen neighbouring localities, which include including Kattuapakkam, Akkambakkam, Moorasavakkam, Ariyaperumbakkam, Thamal, Ayyanarkulam, Arsur, Kalakattur, Kamarajapuram, Keelapi and Kooram, board buses at the terminus.

Bus services in many of these localities are infrequent, a factor drawing these residents to the terminus.

Despite being a busy terminus, it is strikingly lacking in amenities.

In 2010, renovation of the terminus was commissioned. The work was supposed to include concrete flooring to prevent inundation, modern seating arrangements, bus shelters replacing the old asbestos roofing, toilets and better lighting facilities. However, except for concrete flooring, commuters using the terminus are still waiting for the afore-mentioned amenities.

“There are services at the terminus that are operated through Ramapuram. Many software professionals have settled down in Kattupakkam as this makes it easier for them to commute to their offices at DLF IT Park in Ramapuram. These commuters board these services at the terminus; they are however irked by the lack of adequate facilities there,” says S. Chandaran, a commuter from Kattupakkam.

Attached to a depot with a capacity for over 60 buses, the terminus can take 35 buses at a time, which makes it the biggest facility of its kind in the region. Dumping of garbage around the compound wall, poor illumination resulting from use of old and dim sodium vapour lights, the lack of a timing chart, and the absence of separate bus bays for small buses are among the issues that have to be addressed. Commuters especially those heading to nearby areas like Mangadu, wait at the entrance of the terminus due to the lack of seating arrangements and a timing chart.

MTC officials say the terminus operates 84 buses with 680 trips every day to various parts of Chennai, including Broadway, Tambaram, Vadapalani, Adyar, Somangalam and Porur.

“Steps will be taken to provide more basic facilities at the terminus soon,” says a MTC official.