In a city where more than 5 lakh commuters travel on the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses daily, the quality of basic infrastructure facilities available is under question.
Among the issues that annoy the travelling public is the lack of proper bus shelters. Commuters are put to hardship during peak summer season or when it rains.
The MTC has a network of more than 2,600 bus stops in the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) that includes parts of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. However, more than 50% of the bus stops served by the MTC have no shelters.
In some cases, commuters find it even difficult to identify the bus stops because of absence of the mandatory signage.
Commuters complain that MTC buses plying outside the city limits do not have any shelters.
Despite the MTC introducing buses on ‘newly’ formed radial roads, including Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam, Inner Ring Road, Outer Ring Road, Iyappanthangal and Maduravoyal, bus shelters in these areas are a rare sight.
T. Subramani, a resident of Porur who frequently travels to Kancheepuram, says that outside the Poonamallee bus terminus there are hardly any shelters. Thousands of people who travel from Poonamallee are facing a difficult time, he added.
A senior official of the MTC said that except for 34 bus termini, the installation and maintenance of the 2,600 bus shelters come under the local bodies. While 1,420 bus stops are under the purview of the Chennai Corporation, the remaining 1,180 bus stops are located outside the city limits, which come under several panchayats and municipalities.
City residents point out that bus stops such as Egmore, Guindy (on the Race Course Road side), Pallikaranai, Madipakkam and Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road), lack proper shelters.
M. Ashok Kumar, a resident of West Mambalam, said the Egmore bus stop on the west side has become an important multi-transport hub. But the lack of a bus shelter and information about the bus routes causes a lot of confusion, particularly for those coming from various parts of the State. He pointed out that until the Metro Rail started its operations, the bus stop on the west side remained insignificant. Now with several buses from Broadway are being operated through Egmore bus stop towards Koyambedu, hundreds of commuters are facing difficulty because of absence of a proper shelter.
‘Revamp soon’
L. Nandakumar, Chief Engineer of Chennai Corporation, said of the 1,420 bus stops, 650 of them are being maintained under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, while 770 come under the civic body’s maintenance. He said plans are being readied to revamp the shelters which are maintained by the civic body.
Even the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has agreed to chip in with funds for setting up bus shelters near Metro stations, he added.
Commuters also point out the absence of any information about the bus routes to various localities in the shelters maintained by the civic body.
