Southern States
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Tamil Nadu-Chennai
MTC yet to augment services
By Akila Dinakar
CHENNAI, JAN. 5. It is a month now after the fares have been hiked and with the poorer section of society paying through their nose for travelling in city buses. In this context, the widening gap between the demand for buses and supply has turned public scrutiny on the operations of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC).
Questioned about the unmet demand, MTC officials maintained silence and the Transport Secretary was not available for comment.
The experience of commuters has however become miserable with the buses running packed. The wait in several bus stops has become agonisingly long with very few buses available even during peak hours. Barring a few routes where the reduction in services has not made much of a difference owing to the high frequency present earlier, buses have been few and far between in several parts of north Chennai where the demand is very high.
Most of the major bus stops at Royapuram, Old Washermenpet, Vallalar Nagar, Purasawalkam, LIC, Collector Nagar present a picture of large crowds waiting, only to find an already jampacked bus stopping much farther to avoid more people getting in. On route 4 between Toll Gate and Besant Nagar, the cramming in of commuters results in conflicts between groups of passengers. Recently, a woman, who had undergone abdominal surgery, was struggling to stand on one foot, trying to protect the bandaged stitches.
With the public almost resigning themselves to their fate, buses overflowing with people on the footboards, and passengers hanging on to windows are a common sight. The perpetual problem of traffic jam in the Vyasarpadi Subway remains unsolved, and a woman commuter fainted on her way to office as the bus was caught in a traffic jam for over two hours.
With the fares now pinching the pockets of the poorer sections of the public who use this mode of transport more, they wonder when the promised augmentation of services will happen. A commuter on route 32 A, terming bus travel as a thoroughly harassing experience, said: ``The Government has raised the fares but not bothered to provide more buses.''
In the absence of any official statistics, the public are left guessing about the number of buses that suffer breakdowns. While the sight of empty buses parked following a tyre puncture or a clutch/engine failure is quite common, drivers of many buses often battle strenuously with the worn out gear or clutch.
Despite its poor state, the MTC fleet is allowed to violate Transport Department permits on maximum load of passengers.
Haven for pocket-pickers
The crowded buses on several north Chennai routes are a haven for pocket-pickers. Even the conductors willing to move around the bus issuing tickets are prevented by excessive crowds. Some passengers who pass on money through others simply lose it.
Following the damage caused to buses during the transport strike, there are more vehicles stranded in depots, besides the ones which breakdown midway. While the services on regular routes have dwindled, commuters waiting for the already rare services find it even more difficult. Cashing in on the situation, the five-seater share autorickshaws have proliferated in Collector Nagar, Anna Nagar, T. Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur and Vallalar Nagar among other places. In the absence of buses, most of the commuters also resort to sharing autorickshaws.
With mounting diesel and spare part bill dues, the MTC says it is unable to spend on maintenance. Breakdowns apart, most of the buses eject thick smoke that have contributed to the alarming pollution levels in the city.
The problems of women commuters are worse with nothing much done about maintaining the reserved seats for them. While it was considered strange for women to travel on footboards, the present crowded conditions do not offer much choice than to do so, hoping for better times.
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