There seems to be a sudden rise in the number of breakdown of vehicles being operated by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) in the city and peripheries.
According to passengers and bus crew, who spoke to ‘The Hindu' on Tuesday at Periyar bus stand, the sudden breakdown not only resulted in delay in reaching the destination but also posed traffic jams during peak hours.
A bus which was entering the Periyar bus stand at 2.30 p.m. had to be pushed by commuters and the traffic police.
Though the exact reason could not be ascertained, the crew was heard asking the maintenance staff to set right the snag.
Commuters from suburban locations like Melur, Tirupuvanam, Tirumangalam and Sholavandan reaching Periyar bus stand claimed that many buses on the stretch required immediate replacement as they had outlived their life.
Thick fumes that emanate from vehicles cause irritation to motorists.
Yet another example of poor maintenance is the sight of vehicles which find the going touch while climbing a flyover especially on Sellur bridge and Madura Coats bridge, they noted.
A traffic police said on an average 5 to 10 buses in the city limits suffered breakdown due to some problem or the other.
“In a bid to ensure free flow, we have to safely park bus to roadside; otherwise it would pose problem,” he pointed.
When contacted, a depot manager, requesting anonymity, attributed the problem to multiple factors. For instance, not all depots had the infrastructure facility to repair low floor vehicles.
“We need a pit to stand underneath the bus…”
Shortage of trained personnel is another major problem. Want of right spare parts to replace worn out ones too posed delayed delivery from depots by the maintenance staff, he summed up.
A senior official, while admitting that there were some hiccups in a few depots, maintained that out of 540 buses operated daily in the city limits, about 10 to 20 buses developed snags and resulted in breakdown on middle of roads, which was meagre.
There are eight branches (depots) in the city limits and on information, the crew from the nearest point rush to the spot.
The breakdown, of course, affected the targeted kilometre per day on specific routes, he added.
