For long, commuters have been requesting the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) to introduce a small bus service from the bus terminus at MMDA Colony in Choolaimedu.
At present, only two route numbers — 15G (from MMDA Colony terminus to Broadway via Aminjikarai, KMC and Chennai Central) and 27B (from MMDA terminus to Anna Square via Aminjikarai, Egmore and Triplicane) — operate from the terminus.
To be able to go to other localities, commuters now go up to CMBT. So, they board 27C which stops near the MMDA Colony terminus.
Therefore, residents seek the operation of small buses from MMDA Colony terminus with the objective of providing connectivity to surrounding neighbourhoods.
In the absence of small buses, commuters rely on autorickshaws and share autorickshaws. In fact, an autorickshaw stand operates at the entrance of the bus terminus in MMDA Colony. “In such a spacious terminus, small buses can be well-accommodated,” says S. Vinitha, a resident of Choolaimedu.
Residents have also pointed out that the distance from the MMDA Colony bus terminus to CMBT is around two kilometres, whereas the neighbourhoods in and around MMDA Colony such as NSK Nagar, Arumbakkam, Nerkundram, Nelson Manikam Road and Trustpuram are located within a two-kilometre radius. MTC officials agree introduction of small bus service from the terminus in MMDA Colony has been a long-standing request of residents.
“The idea of operating small buses from the MMDA Colony terminus is good. But the fact is that though the terminus is spacious, the availability of small buses is limited in number,” the officials add.
