The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Nanganallur-Koyambedu bus service begins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 04, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Nanganallur-Koyambedu bus service begins

Staff Reporter

MTC needs to generate more revenue: Minister

IMPROVING CONNECTIVITY: (From right) Transport Minister K.N. Nehru, Labour Minister T.M. Anbarasan and Alandur municipal chairman R.S. Bharathi flag off the bus service from Nanganallur to Koyambedu at the Hindu Colony bus stand in Nanganallur on Wed nesday. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM : The Metropolitan Transport Corporation has to increase its revenue, compared to other corporations and the State Government is taking steps to achieve this goal, Transport Minister K. N. Nehru said on Wednesday.

Participating in a function at the Nanganallur bus terminus in Hindu Colony to dedicate `M 70 N' — a new service between Nanganallur and Koyambedu, the Minister said that increasing its fleet strength and journey distance were all part of plans to achieve the target.

Pointing out that the Government Transport Corporation's fleet of about 2,500 buses in Tiruchi area made daily earnings of Rs. 3.5 crore, he said that with a similar fleet strength, MTC's daily earning was only Rs. 90 lakhs.

The Government had sanctioned Rs. 550 crore to the Transport Department, of which Rs. 250 crore was subsidy for free bus passes to school students. The remaining Rs. 300 crore was meant for purchasing 1,230 new buses, including 480 for the MTC. By March, the fleet strength of MTC would touch 3,000, Mr. Nehru said.

Fleet expansion and modernisation were important as even 14-year-old MTC buses were still plying on roads.

He said the Government had also increased the distance of a single trip of MTC bus to 50 km from 40 km. After the DMK came back to power, seven Transport Corporations together had increased their revenue by Rs. 150 crore, Mr. Nehru said.

Profits made by the Transport Corporations in Tamil Nadu were not high, as bus fares here were among the lowest in the country. ``In Kerala, the fare is 48 paise per km and in express buses, it is 58 to 60 paise per km. And in Andhra Pradesh, it is 70 paise a km'', he said, adding that the fare in Tamil Nadu was 28 paise a km.

Labour Minister T. M. Anbarasan, who is also Alandur MLA, said that another service between Keelkattalai and Koyambedu would be introduced soon.

Alandur Municipal Chairman R. S. Bharathi appealed to Mr. Nehru to introduce similar services between Nanganallur and other important parts of the city.

He said the land on which the bus terminus was constructed originally belonged to The Hindu and was handed over as a gift to the local body, Mr. Bharathi said. R. Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, MTC, N. S. Prema and N.Mahesan, Municipal Commissioner and Engineer, participated.

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