Withdrawal of 1G bus service upsets commuters

It has been renamed as 1GX and its route has been extended up to Thiruvanmiyur

CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, 25/02/2016: Parking of small buses along with other vehicles at the Velachery bus terminus causing traffic congestion. Photo: G. Krishnaswamy

Many of the residents of Velachery who commute by Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses are unhappy over the changes that have been introduced in the 1G route.

Even the bus service has been renamed as 1GX.

The original route of 1G is from Vijay Nagar bus terminus to Thiruvottiyur via Anna Salai.

According to the new route, 1GX originates at Thiruvanmiyur and goes through Taramani Link Road before reaching Velachery. From Velachery, 1GX follows the old route.

Velachery residents seek restoration of 1G with its original route.

“All these years, 1G service has been erratic. We wanted its frequency increased. However, MTC has completely done away with the 1G route,” says S. Vijaya Raghavan, a resident.

Residents of Velachery say that instead of extending the service of 1G, MTC should have operated a different route number from Thiruvanmiyur to help residents of Taramani, Baby Nagar and TANSI Nagar reach Thiruvottiyur easily.

At present, there is no direct service from Taramani to Thiruvottiyur. As a result, commuters go up to Guindy and board 1B (Tambaram to Thiruvottiyur via Anna Salai).

Also, a section of the commuters from Taramani near Rajiv Gandhi Salai go up to Thiruvanmiyur bus terminus and board 1A which plies via Adyar and Mylapore and culminates at Thiruvottiyur.