Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will soon send a letter to the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) requesting them to make necessary arrangements for providing small buses as feeder services for its stations.
This will enable passengers to hop onto a small bus operated by the MTC after exiting a CMRL station. The buses will be operated near all the 32 Metro Rail stations and will cover a five kilometre radius, said CMRL sources.
“This is one of the feeder services that we have considered for now,” said a CMRL official.
Presently, there are 100 small buses being operated in the city as feeder services to localities tucked away from the arterial roads. Experts said more small buses would have to be rolled out to cater to the needs of Metro Rail passengers too.
“The frequency of Metro Rail is expected to be one in five minutes during peak hours and one in 15 minutes during lean hours. So the number of small buses should be increased,” said an expert.
Many suggest that the authorised share autorickshaws could also be considered for providing feeder services at the stations. There are 197 authorised share autorickshaws plying the city.
“The government can give more permits so that they can be put to use at important stations,” said the expert.
A transport department official said they had identified 90 locations across the city for using share autorickshaws as feeder services, but the number was later reduced to 46. “The MTC told us that their small buses could also be used,” said the CMRL official.
According to CMRL officials, they are also planning a common ticketing facility which will incorporate the feeder services.
