The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Passenger comfort in reverse

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Passenger comfort in reverse

R. Sujatha

MTC terminii have space for petty shops, but not for toilets or water facilities

Announcements of arrival and departure of buses are not made.

— Photo: N. Sridharan

Found wanting: The Metropolitan Transport Corporation could do well to create more passenger amenities. A scene at Tiruvanmiyur bus terminus.

CHENNAI: Passenger amenities are woefully lacking in all Metropolitan Transport Corporation terminii. They seem to have been built to accommodate only buses and not commuters. During rush hour or when buses do not arrive or depart on schedule, people throng the designated parking areas.

The terminii have provided space for petty shops but toilets or drinking water facilities for commuters have not been provided. Announcements of arrival and departure of buses on various routes are not made.

When the State Express Transport Corporation’s terminus at Broadway near the High Court in Parry’s Corner was given to the Metropolitan Transport Corporation a few years ago, residents hoped that the terminus would be upgraded in such a way as to benefit passengers. But the situation has gone from bad to worse. Some of the equipment and rooms once used by the SETC have fallen into disuse.

The terminus behind Kuralagam from where buses ply to Manali, Tiruvottiyur and other parts of north Chennai has become a shandy of sorts with vendors, beggars and gypsies doing brisk business.

These two termini have enough space for seating commuters and could offer shelter to them from rain or shine. Instead, the compound walls of these termini are used as public urinals.

While these major termini have done nothing to improve passenger comfort, those in Triplicane, Anna Square and V.M. Street in south Chennai do not have even adequate parking place for the buses. They are parked on the road.

In T. Nagar, the MTC has increased the number of trips to suburban areas such as Tiruvottiyur, Sriperumbudur and Tiruverkadu. But no waiting area has been provided for commuters, who end up standing in the way of buses.

The Velachery terminus occupies a lot of road space, but is small to accommodate more than a few buses. Many of the drivers prefer to stop the vehicles on the road, thereby hampering the traffic flow on the busy stretch. The share autorickshaws and other private carriers, which block entries and exits into the terminus, only add to the distress of passengers.

Monsoons compound the problems because of the lack of drainage facilities.

The terminii at T. Nagar, K. K. Nagar, and Iyyappanthangal are slushy or get inundated during rains. The lack of amenities is also a cause for concern for drivers. They find it hard to navigate buses through narrow stretches in the termini, which are often crowded with passengers.

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