Bus commuters at Saligramam want the makeshift bus terminus on Kamaraj Salai in Saligramam to go, and a permanent facility created for residents. Doing so will enable more buses, including small bus services, to be operated from Saligramam.
At present, the makeshift bus terminus is being operated on Kamaraj Salai in Saliframam, along the compound wall of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School. This is so for more than three decades since the introduction of the first bus service (Route N0: 17K, Saligramam – Broadway via Vadapalani) in the neighbourhood.
“We have to go to Vadapalani bus terminus to reach other parts of the city including T. Nagar, Mylapore, Tambaram and Adyar. During rush hour, most of the buses are crowdedm forcing making senior citizens to wait longer for the next bus,” says S. Vishwanath, a commuter from Saligramam. The distance between Saligramam bus terminus and Vadapalani bus terminus is around three kilometres.
12C (Route No: Saligramam – Mylapore) and 26J (Saligramam – Broadway) are among the services that are currently operated from Saligramam.
Over the years, the trips of these bus services have been increased with each bus service available every half-an-hour. And the uses start operating as early as 4.55 a.m (17K bus route) every day. After the last trip for the day, buses including those from Dasarathapuram return to the Vadapalani depot for routine maintenance every day.
Direct bus services can be operated from the neighbourhood, when it receives a permanent terminus.
Commuters say that an adequate number of trips are being operated only during the rush hour.
“Steps will be taken to set up permanent bus terminus in the neighbourhood soon,” says an MTC official.
