Breakdowns, delays drive MTC bus commuters up wall

TNN | Oct 31, 2017, 00:08 IST

CHENNAI: Despite Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) assurances that its fleet was well-serviced to handle downpours in the city, two buses broke down on day one of the northeast monsoon, causing major traffic snarls on Five Furlong Road, Guindy, and Poonamallee High Road, near Nandambakkam Trade Centre.

Passengers in these overcrowded buses had to wait for hours until the next scheduled bus on these routes arrived to ferry them to their destinations, said traffic police officers.

In many terminuses, especially in south Chennai, MTC buses arrived more than an hour-and-a-half behind schedule. MTC sources in one of the terminuses said since the rain started in the morning, the services were disrupted right from 9am and the situation was worsened by congestion caused by the garlanding of the Thevar statue on Anna Salai.

"Buses from areas in South Chennai plying to Broadway and Tiruvottiyur were moving at a snail's pace due to heavy traffic on Anna Salai from Little Mount to Teynampet junction," sources added.

A senior MTC officer said though the crew on the morning shift came to duty on time, a number of buses got stuck in traffic. "In many depots in the south, the buses which were scheduled to close the morning trip did not arrive even after 2.30pm," the officer said.

Similarly, drivers and conductors on the afternoon shift, which begins at 2 pm, were unable to reach the bus terminus on time, the officer said. The problem continued till late in the evening.