Not enough bus services to bring you into the city

Commuters in the suburbs complain they have to change two or three buses to reach their destinations

People living on the outskirts of the city have ample Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses to other parts outside the city. However, contrastingly those living on the outskirts wanting to reach the heart of the city have difficulties because there are too few direct bus services. As a result the commuters complain they have to switch two or three buses to reach the desination.

For residents of Madipakkam, Keelkattalai, Adambakkam, Velachery and Medavakkam, reaching the commercial establishments of Anna Salai or Egmore means they have to take at least two MTC buses.

While in Velachery there is at least one direct service (bus no. 1G – Velachery to Thiruvottiyur), which operates in the gap of one-hour, there are no direct bus services in several southern suburbs.

S. Poornalingam, a resident of Sadasivam Nagar, Madipakkam, rueing the absence of direct bus facility to Anna Salai, said they have to travel to Saidapet and take another bus to reach the destination, which means not only spending more on ticket fare but also time spent in waiting for the buses.

Previously there were a number of bus services bearing bus nos. A51 and D51 from Tambaram East to Broadway via Velachery, but these services have been drastically reduced by the MTC authorities.

Manickam, who works in a private company in Anna Salai, wanted the MTC authorities to operate buses from Velachery to Broadway similar to large number of bus services being operated from Tambaram East to Velachery and vice versa.

GPS meters for autos, finally?

Is an end to haggling with auto rickshaw drivers in sight? It seems so, as the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu has invited tenders for introducing GPS fitted meters in autorickshaws in the city.

A control room will also be setup in Ezhilagam to monitor the auto rickshaws fitted with the meters. However auto drivers seem unhappy as they fear they will have to bear the price of the equipment. The tender has demanded 71,470 numbers of Electronic Digital Fare Meters fitted with printer and GPS. It will also have a panic button.

As per the tender document, the equipment should print the receipt with details including vehicle ID, date, time, distance travelled, origin and destination location. The control centre will use Auto rickshaw Monitoring Information System (ARMIS) and monitor the movement of the vehicles. They will also monitor PANIC button messages.

“But it is not clear whether will have to pay for the equipment. Besides most autorickshaw drivers purchased new meters only recently. We cannot just throw it away. The government should either purchase them or reimburse us,” says J. Seshasayanam, general secretary of the Madras Metro Auto Drivers Association.

Commuters are happy hearing the news. “But the enforcement should be proper,” adds M. Sudeesh, a resident of Anna Nagar.

(Reporting by R.Srikanth and Vivek Narayanan)