The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Complaints just pour in at grievance cell

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Sunday, Sep 21, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Complaints just pour in at grievance cell

Vidya Venkat

Aggrieved commuters keep MTC staff busy

CHENNAI: The Metropolitan Transport Corporation grievance cell (93833 37639) has been busy receiving complaints, ever since the number was displayed prominently in buses from September 15.

A grievance cell staff said people had complained the most about drivers not stopping at particular stops. Other complaints include conductors not returning change and buses being unclean.

There have also been demands to improve services in several areas. Residents of Adambakkam have lodged a complaint about the poor frequency of 9M service. Residents in various southern suburbs have also demanded increase in frequency of existing services.

MTC General Manager for Operations V. Babu said if there were complaints against drivers or conductors, disciplinary action was initiated against them. Drivers were sent for training if they drove in a rash manner.

He said the Corporation had prepared a booklet documenting action initiated on the basis of the complaints.

About buses not stopping at a stand, he said he would look into specific complaints. A passenger had complained that the 54 series buses do not halt at P. Orr & Sons though the conductor issued a ticket to that stop.

Responding to the complaint that drivers often stopped the bus away from the stop, Mr. Babu said it could be because of autorickshaws encroaching on bus stops. “If the Bus Rapid Transit System is introduced with dedicated lanes for buses to ply, MTC services will improve dramatically,” he averred.

A common complaint was that many a time, two or three buses plying on the same route could be seen going one after the other. Mr. Babu said due to traffic snarls in some cases and varying style of driving in others, services got “bunched.” “We will introduce new bus services on routes where there is good scope for revenue generation, not otherwise,” he said.

Poor patronage

Mr. Babu told The Hindu that AC bus services were slow in attracting passenger patronage. This was especially true in the case of the service introduced from the airport to the Central station and, as a result, the MTC was incurring losses.

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