For air passengers and airport staff, getting to the bus stop outside Chennai airport, involves a long, dusty walk.
Since there are buses to various parts of the city from the airport, some air passengers and many airport employees, use the service.
The bus stop is close to the old international terminal, but quite far from the new domestic terminal, said Shoba Krishnan (name changed), an airport employee.
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Earlier, when the domestic and international terminals were close by, the walk to the bus stop was not inconvenient.
However, ever since the new domestic terminal has been thrown open for use, it has become increasingly difficult for employees to get to the bus stop.
“I take a bus from the airport to Retteri every day. I have to take a long detour from the airport office, cross the parking lot and then walk to the bus stop. The distance is as much as half a kilometre, and on days when it is hot, it is very exhausting,” Ms. Krishnan said.
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K.S. Nalini, a frequent air passenger and a resident of Mylapore, said it was tiring to walk to the terminal from the bus stop with baggage.
“Every two months, I travel to Bangalore to visit my sister. I don’t have a car or a two-wheeler and since autorickshaw drivers charge as much Rs. 300, I prefer taking a direct bus to the airport. Though the journey is not a problem, carrying my baggage and walking to the terminal is,” she said.
Recently, Airports Authority of India officials and Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) officials held a discussion on the possibility of shifting the bus stop for the convenience of commuters.
“We held talks with airport officials to see if we could reroute buses and allow them to stop inside one of the outer service lanes. That way, the bus stop will be closer for international and domestic passengers. However, we have not yet decided when this will be implemented,” said an MTC official.