Not long ago, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation effected rationalisation of bus services across Chennai.
Responses of bus commuters in many parts of the city seem to suggest the exercise has lead to reduction of services in critical areas, and in the months since the rationalisation, they have been missing the frequency of services on certain routes.
They also point out that many services have been renumbered as part of the exercise, but they don’t have any problem with that.
Initially, commuters at the East and West Mogappair and Anna Nagar West bus termini admitted that the renumbering left them confused, but they would want to talk at length about how reduction in the services is the real problem.
Here are a few examples
One, bus number 27H, operating between Avadi and Anna Square via Anna Nagar West bus terminus, has been renumbered as 40H, but it has not skipped any of the old stops. However, commuters say, that after the rationalisation, the number of trips between the afore-said destinations via Anna Nagar has reduced to four. They say that this is a considerable reduction
Similarly, earlier, route number 144B, which operated between Anna Nagar West bus terminus and T. Nagar, would do at least four trips every day, but now the number has dropped to two trips. This change was introduced as its route of this bus service was extended up to Madhavaram bus terminus from T. Nagar bus terminus via Anna Nagar west bus terminus.
“Such changes in routes should be done only in consultation with local residents and commuters as these changes would affect them directly. Clear and adequate details on change of bus numbers, routes and trips should be displayed at bus termini,” says P. Vadivel, secretary, Anna Nagar Western Extension Association.
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Commuters from Anna Nagar also point out that the old bus route numbers such as 7F (which was operated between Anna Nagar West bus terminus and Broadway) were abruptly discontinued since August this year citing poor patronage.
Petitions to the CM’s grievances cell sent by residents have not yielded much as the response has been that that the changes will stay.
Resident of Anna Nagar Western Extension say that originally, 7F was operated as 7C between the neighbourhood and Broadway. The service had been introduced in the 1980s primarily for the benefit of the government staff at State Secretariat who had settled down in the neighbourhood. Subsequently, the 7C bus route was renamed as 7H and 7M, and more stops were added to their route.
For many years, 7F route number was operated with the frequency of one-bus-every-15 minutes, from the Anna Nagar West bus terminus. However, for the past few years, it is being operated with the frequency of one-bus-every-hour.
At present, many commuters from the neighbourhood travel to Tirumangalam to board buses to get to many other parts of the city.
