MADURAI
Every afternoon, M. Selvi, a domestic worker, takes a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus from Thamaraipatti (near Thirumogur) to Mattuthavani. She pays ₹19 or ₹22 as fare depending on the type of bus service she uses.
On those occasional days when she gets a seat in a crowded bus, she often finds the seat broken. “Though government increased the bus fare last year, there has been no improvement in the quality of buses. It is only becoming worse,” she says.
R. Muneeswaran, a construction worker from Tahsildar Nagar, who often travels to Tirumangalam and nearby places for work, says that shutters in the bus windows rarely work. “I have never travelled in a bus in Madurai that does not have leaks during rainy season,” he adds.
Experiences like these are common among commuters in Periyar and Mattuthavani bus stands. S. Arun Kumar, a consumer rights activist, alleges that Madurai is becoming notorious for poor quality of TNSTC buses.
P. Nagoorkani, a faculty member of Madurai Kamaraj University, who has filed a public interest litigation in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court against the bus fare increase, says that the TNSTC is “cheating commuters” by charging exorbitant fares. “It arbitrarily classifies the services as Express and Deluxe and charges more money from poor people. But the quality of buses remains uniformly poor. The number of buses charging ordinary fares is considerably low in Madurai,” he says.
In a case related to bus fare increase and poor upkeep, the High Court Bench has recently appointed Mahalakshmi as an Advocate Commissioner to enquire and submit a report.
Over the last two weeks, the city has witnessed at least two incidents – one near Aavin junction and another near Nelpettai – of smoke emanating from TNSTC buses, due to inadequate or substandard repair work.
Mr. Arun Kumar says that the poor upkeep not only affects commuters and crew, but also contributes to pollution. “It is difficult to ride a bike next to TNSTC buses in Madurai because of the thick smoke released by them,” he says.
Acknowledging the problem, employees and trade unionists say that reasons for the poor upkeep range from non-replacement of buses and shortage of staff to lack of spare parts.
A. Kanagasundar, general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, TNSTC– Madurai, alleges that more than 70% of the buses operated in Madurai are over 10 years old. “New buses are rarely provided to Madurai city services in recent years,” he says.
He says that the low platform buses, mainly introduced as part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission , are a failure. “The automated doors do not work in almost all buses. The suspension balloon, a key equipment, barely functions,” he says.
Highlighting that it is for these buses that fares are more, he contrasts the situation with Tiruchi where the number of low platform buses are significantly low. “Madurai irrationally opted for so many of these buses. Another reason is that Tiruchi has competition from private buses. Hence, the TNSTC cannot charge more,” he says.
A TNSTC driver, speaking on anonymity, says that requests for repair are not immediately attended. “We are forced to operate buses with faults for some more days, because of which even more faults occur,” he says. He adds that though registers are maintained at depots for drivers to record complaints, they are discouraged by the technical staff, who are in charge of repair works.
M. Pandian, general secretary, Indian National Trade Union Congress, says that lack of spare parts is a key reason for poor maintenance. “Even when they are bought, focus is on buying low priced items to cut the cost instead of maintaining quality,” he alleges.
While the government order (No 321) issued by Transport department in October 2018 says that there are 135 technical staff in excess in the TNSTC – Madurai, Mr. Pandian says that the order gives a misleading picture. “The overall strength could be more. However, most of them are sitting in Virudhunagar and Dindigul. Madurai has acute shortage,” he says.
Importantly, he alleges that those entering the TNSTC with engineering qualification, who ought to be monitoring maintenance–related work, are often promoted and given other administrative duties like branch management, audit or purchase. “This results in lack of manpower to technically supervise fleet maintenance. The entire system is collapsing and a complete overhaul is needed for the TNSTC to survive,” he adds.
C. Rajasundar, General Manager, TNSTC–Madurai, however, refutes the allegations. He says that even though some buses are old, they go through routine pollution checks every six months to ensure their operation.
The workshop in Pasumalai is usually crowded with buses, he says and adds that repairs are fixed within three days. “On the fourth day, the bus has to be on the road. The fixing of spare parts is swift,” he claims. He also says that there is no shortage of manpower as several services are outsourced.