The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) would very soon introduce new buses where physically-challenged persons would be able to travel without discomfort. The new buses have been designed to accommodate the physically-challenged persons along with wheelchairs as per the directions of the Madras High Court.
The modalities for introducing disabled-friendly buses were worked out at the three-day board meeting organised by the Transport department with all the eight State Transport Corporations (STCs) in the Secretariat.
In a press release issued by the Transport department, the board meetings held from August 7 to 9, and chaired by Transport secretary J. Radhakrishnan, the officials were directed to draft an action plan for executing several announcements regarding the transport demands made by the Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami under Section 110 during the Assembly session.
At the board meetings, the officials also discussed ways to improve revenue generation and reduce the expenses, scrapping of old buses, and employees’ promotions.
The Transport Secretary wanted the officials to maintain the 3,881 new buses which were purchased at a cost of ₹1,160 crore. He also wanted the officials of the STCs to speed up various projects announced by the Chief Minister under Section 110 including the purchase of 2,000 new buses at a cost of ₹600 crore, construction of new bus depots at a cost of ₹10 crore, and renovation of old bus depots by improving the rest rooms for the employees.
At the meeting, the Transport Secretary discussed the plans to modernise 16 of the 32 bus terminuses under the Smart City mission.
The officials of STCs including the MTC presented a working plan to introduce electric buses in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai through the C-40 (Clean Bus Declaration) organisation, as part of which meetings with the officials of Public Works Department and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation for creating recharging facilities had been completed.
