Commuters go around in circles looking for their route numbers

P. Somasundaram, a resident of Varadarajapuram, paces up and down, at the West Tambaram Bus Terminus, looking for route number 202 (Tambaram – Avadi), which plies through Outer Ring Road.

He has no idea where the route number is parked. After a long and stressful search, he finds the route number parked at a bay allocated for the bus route number 114 (Red Hills – Tambaram).

There are too many route numbers to be accommodated in the available space.

At present, there are three bus bays, including designated lanes, and a stopping point for route numbers coming from Guduvanchery and Chengalpet on Grand Southern Trunk Road.

“Only a few route numbers halt at the designated bus bays. Senior citizens and women are the worst-affected. Earlier, I knew the bays of the route numbers. Now, buses are randomly parked across the terminus and commuters have to go around in circles to locate the buses,” he points out. This bus terminus is one of the most crowded termini in the city. The route numbers at the terminus ply to almost every nook and corner of the city. MTC bus drivers say it has become difficult to park the buses at the bays.

“Buses cannot be parked on the left side of the bus bays as it will create traffic congestion at the terminus, which, of late, has become a thoroughfare for private vehicles,” bus drivers say.

“There is no space to move freely as the bays are crowded with commuters. The authorities concerned should take action at the earliest to designate bus bays for route numbers and ban private vehicles from entering the terminus,” says P. Gopalakrishnan, a commuter. When contacted, MTC officials refused to comment.