MTC begins installing panic buttons in chennai

CHENNAI: To improve safety of passengers, especially women, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has started installing panic buttons at each end of the buses. The commuters can seek help by pressing the button in the event of an accident, medical emergencies, harassment, theft or any other issues.

“We have just started fitting the buttons. The work on integrating it with the control room at MTC headquarters is on,” said a senior official from MTC. The control room will integrate alerts received to other control rooms, which will be monitored by law and order police, traffic police, transport and 108 ambulance call centres. “It may take at least four-to-six months to complete the project,” added the official.

At present, panic buttons have been installed in over 30 buses operated in 70V (Perungalathur-Koyambedu), 76V (Koyambedu-Siruseri), 25 G (Anna Square-Poonamallee), and a few other routes. As of March last year, the MTC catered to around 28 to 29 lakh commuters daily. “Although the patronage has not reached pre-Covid levels, it is improving,’’ said officials. The per day patronage of MTC stands at 19 to 20 lakh.

To enhance safety, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had made it mandatory for all transport vehicles - autorickshaw, call taxis and buses - to have an emergency button and location tracking device from April 2018. Following this, the transport department had proposed to set up a centralised control room at the North Zone RTO office in New Avadi Road. However, it remains a non-starter.S Natarajan, Transport Commissioner said the matter is being looked into and refused to comment further.