I was one of the many who laughed and made jokes about MTC buses and its drivers. After moving to Chennai, I got to experience its bad service. On the OMR however, the cause is not the MTC, but the public.
On the OMR, even if a bus driver wishes to pull up at the bus stop, he cannot. There are no proper bus shelters in the entire stretch, except at the Sholinganallur junction. Even here the only people you will spot are drivers. A handful of people standing away from the stop won’t waste a chance to scream at the driver if he did not stop where they are.
If the driver is a regular on the OMR route — like 21H, 19B, 570 — he knows where the bus stop is, but he can’t stop there due to several reasons; the main one being parked cars. During peak hours, the situation gets worse. One has to wait at the Sholinganallur junction for about 30 to 45 minutes to cross since no one follows any rules, let alone traffic rules.
This is when I begin to feel sorry for the bus drivers. They have to balance work pressure, hectic traffic and daunting passengers. I am sure, no matter what happens, bus drivers in our country can never be polite to passengers under these conditions.
The entire OMR stretch has actually turned into a misery, rather than a matter of pride. Despite all the wonderful companies that dot this expressway, the lack of basic facilities is what stares you in the face. You are left wondering about the millions who want to become a part of this mess each day.
ARIVU A.S.IT Professional
