Travelling on S30, a recently launched small bus from Ashok Pillar to Liberty theatre in Kodambakkam, was a revelation. I did not expect the eagerness with which commuters hopped into the small bus. Considering that this part of the city seems better connected than most others, this was interesting.
Anyone can thumb a ride on this mini bus, which at present has no designated stops. As this little wonder went through the by-lanes of West Mambalam, left untouched by share-autos or MTC buses, I got a sense of people’s dependence on public transport.
As we passed Jawahar Vidyalaya, many students joined in the commute. The older commuters could not stop discussing the boon the small bus is for residents of the locality. Chatting with the conductor, they kept asking which route the bus will take, how frequent the service will be, while some even offered suggestions on different routes the bus could take to benefit more people. The conductor listened patiently and was more than happy to answer all their queries.
Meanwhile, the driver told me this service could turn out to be a major hit among commuters as it touches two important railway stations: West Mamabalam and Kodambakkam. “As it was launched recently, not many people know about the service. Once it becomes popular, people are likely to give regular MTC buses, share-autos and autos a miss for the small bus,” he added.
But, traffic at Lake View Road can turn out to be a major trouble factor for this service. The narrow two-way stretch is busy at any point of time and no two big vehicles can pass at the same time. “We have to wait for a big car or a van to pass. The road is too narrow to accommodate two-way traffic,” says the driver. Soon, he is forced to stop for a school van to pass near the Railway border road. While the bus waits, a young lad jumps in and out of the bus telling his friends “I haven’t yet boarded a small bus. I want to experience it.”
Covering around five km, the bus reaches its last stop at Liberty, and I take the return ride back to Ashok Pillar. As I disembark, a service from Guindy to Ashok Pillar, S33, drops people off at the stop. And once again I see some happy faces. One of the travellers tells me he caught the bus from West Saidapet. “I travel regularly to Kodambakkam from my house in West Saidapet. I have to take a bus to Ashok Pillar and change another to reach my destination. But only one service 70F is available for travelling to Pillar and it is quite infrequent. I sometimes have to wait for an hour before one comes. Since the launch of S35, travelling has become so much easier. And every 20 minutes there is a small bus,” says Rajashekar, who is an assistant art director.
Another commuter Maniammal tells me she used to take an auto from her residence in West Saidapet to reach Pillar. “I had to pay Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 every day. But with the small bus being launched it just takes Rs. 6. And it is worth waiting 20 minutes for a small bus.”
Within minutes, a small bus, S35, from Pillar to Loyola College comes and gets filled up in no time. Like these other services connecting Ashok Pillar to Vadapalani, and from Vadapalani to Loyola, Koyembedu seems to be getting a lot of patrons. Though issues may be raised about some localities being left out or routes that need changing, the small bus has in no ‘small’ way made travelling more comfortable for people, in this part of the city
