Bus bays at Perungalathur welcomed

Arrangement also draws criticism from some bus drivers who complain of a long wait

With long-distance buses beginning to queue up at the allotted bus bays inside the bus shelters in Perungalathur, the new arrangement is widely welcomed by the commuters, as they can now relax before boarding.

According to the new arrangement, the State Transport Corporation buses can enter the two bays close to the bus shelter.

Commuters said, earlier, the noise, dust pollution and the sense of urgency and competitiveness among the government bus drivers made life miserable for those boarding at Perungalathur, the southern gateway to the city.

However, drivers of STC complained that they cannot jump out of queue even if their vehicle was full as they had to wait for the vehicle in front to move out of the bay. This results in fuel wastage, they said.

Until a few days ago, hundreds of vehicles which cross this part of the city to reach places such as Vandalur, Guduvancherry and beyond were in for long delays as vehicles crowded the carriageway. Uma Sekar, a commuter from Selaiyur, suggested that different bus bays be set aside for different routes, to help the commuters.

As per the new arrangement, all the buses come one by one, but this at times makes one scuttle between the vehicles to board the right bus waiting on the ‘aisle’, she said.

Venkatesh Shiva, another commuter from Thanjavur, said that omnibus drivers park their vehicles on the carriageway for hours together. This slows down the movement of other vehicles heading south from Tambaram.

The situation worsens particularly on weekends with vehicles piling up from Irumbuliyur bridge. It takes nearly an hour for these buses to cross Perungalathur, he said. Traffic police admitted that omnibuses’ parking on the carriageway was a regular phenomenon until some months ago.

Now, omnibuses have been ordered into the parking area inside the bus shelter. In the next lane, south-bound buses are allowed, they said. Regarding the allotment of different bus bays for different routes, he said that they would consider that after a detailed study.

However, despite regulations, residents continue to face traffic jams during weekends, police officials said. This was mainly due to an increase in the number of long-distance private buses, commuters alleged, which needs to addressed by enforcing traffic discipline without any prejudice, commuters