Residents and commuters boarding Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses at the Irumbuliyur bus stops, near Tambaram on eastern and western side of Grand Southern Trunk Road, have requested MTC to take steps to ensure all buses, including Express, M-service and Deluxe services, halt at these stops. At present, only a few Express services and white board buses halt at these bus stops.
Most of the buses plying via Irumbuliyur go to Guduvanchery on the eastern side and St.Thomas Mount on the western side. However, as these buses do not stop at Irumbuliyur, residents have to take a bus to Perungalthur if they want to go to Guduvanchery. Similarly, if they want to go to St. Thomas Mount, they have to go to West Tambaram. They rely mostly on private vehicles, share-autorickshaws or trains. Taking advantage of the situation, drivers of share-autorickshaws fleece the customers, charging exorbitantly.
“People sprint to board the buses while they stop at traffic signals, on both sides of the arterial stretch. A majority of the services, G70, G18, E18 and M500, plying through Irumbuliyur do not ply with white boards,” G. Aishwarya, a commuter, said. Moreover, regular commuters proceeding towards St. Thomas Mount have appealed to the authorities to construct shelters on the western side of the stop, as they are forced to stand in the open now.
“Lack of bus shelters and benches (at the stops on the eastern and western side of GST Road) is annoying the commuters as they are forced to wait for the route numbers in the middle of the road,” E.D. Kothanda Raman, a social activist, and a resident of Irumbuliyur, said.
Moreover, commuters face the risk of being knocked down by speeding vehicles while waiting for the buses in the middle of the road.
