Bus bays denote certainty. When a bus bay is in place, commuters know exactly where to stand and wait for their buses and board them. Not so, at the SRP Tools stop (towards Thiruvanmiyur) on Rajiv Gandhi Salai.
Most MTC buses halt outside and beyond the bus bay there, which has been created using barricades.
Nature abhorring a vacuum, the needlessly vacant bus bay is often found occupied by autorickshaws and share authorickshaws.
At this MTC stopover, there is nothing unusual about commuters running behind buses to board them.
J. Rekha, a regular commuter, says: “When I am on the bus, I ask the driver to stop in the bay area.”
MTC’s checking squads can be spotted at some bus stops on Rajiv Gandhi Salai to check if buses halt at designated points including bays.
Some commuters want the squad visit this stop and set things right.
SRP Tools is an important stop as people coming from Velachery and Thiruvanmiyur direction wait at the facility. Halting buses at their designated bays suggests discipline, which is necessary on the road if commutes have to be comfortable and event-free.
An MTC official has promised to look into the issue.