The MMTS has caught on with the students, particularly those travelling to colleges located on the peripheries of the city. With the city roads choking right from morning, students now prefer the MMTS to reach the colleges on time and also save some energy for the day-long lectures.
Though the students find the trains convenient, they continue to face delays to poor infrastructure. One major issue among others is the lack of ticket counters in the stations. Due to long queues and fewer counters, they are often forced to miss their trains.
Passenger lines at the ticket counters are longer during evening hours. A degree college student, Amtul says, “With very few counters, there is always chaos causing trouble to the passengers. And due to this issue, I have missed my train a few times.” The havoc in front of the ticket counters asks for better public services by increasing the number of counters.
Neha from St. Francis College says, “The transport services should be taken another step ahead to meet the needs of the commuters. Due to fewer counters, and unorganised lines, many of us miss the train.”
Another issue that prevents them from taking MMTS is the uncertainty of the arrival of trains. Anjana who has been travelling in the local train for the last three years says, “Most of the trains are either too early or too late, they never maintain time due to which I miss my classes.”
Sindhu Daya, concurs with the above comment and says, “The train is crowded at all times. And there is serious need to increase the frequency of the trains. If one train is missed, the immediate next train is after a very long gap, which will not arrive on time.”
An alternative to autos and buses in the city, the local trains which are rated as the most convenient public transport also come with some flaws. Particularly women travelling on daily basis recount what could have been peaceful morning journeys, turned into nightmares.
Meghana Rakam, a student says, “Usually, men enter the ladies’ compartments and cause trouble. There is urgent need for strict rules to restrict them.”
Journeys of shorter durations are financially best viable on MMTS. Ironically, the commuters face a variety of issues on this front too. Megha Sarvepalli, a frequent traveller in local train, says, “A lot of my friends and I have faced theft in local trains as they are extremely crowded. Security is a major issue, taking its psychological toll on girls travelling in late evenings after attending evening classes or computer courses.”
