Small buses from city sent to Salem
Passengers Complain Services Cut
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai:18.01.2019
Amid reports that small bus services in Chennai are being cut down, four such vehicles from the city have been renovated and sent to Salem, the district chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami hails from.
The CM on Wednesday flagged off government buses on new routes in and around Salem, according to an official release. Among them are four small buses.
All four were owned by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Chennai, and plied on Chennai roads since 2016, say transport department records. On January 10, these four old buses were given a facelift at the MTC depot at Chrompet, Chennai. MTC sources said damaged seats were repaired and worn out parts replaced. New Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Salem, stickers were pasted on the repainted buses, sources said.
One of the four buses (registration number TN 01 AN 1398) was taken to the MTC's headquarters (Pallavan House) for approval before being taken to Salem the same night. TOI has documents and photographs. The next day, six drivers, working with TNSTC Salem, arrived in Chennai to drive the other three vehicles (TN 01 AN 1245, TN 01 AN 1311 and TN 01AN 1379) to Salem.
When TOI contacted TNSTC Salem authorities on January 13, they said there was no proposal to introduce small buses in Salem. All the four buses were parked elsewhere and not at the main depot next to Salem bus stand where new buses are usually kept. On Wednesday, the buses were brought in hours before the launch.
V Aravinth, managing director of TNSTC, Salem said, “Of the four buses, two would be operated in and around Yercaud, a popular tourist destination in western Tamil Nadu. The others will be operated near Gundur, Aathur.” When asked about the history of the buses, he said these were new bus routes and admitted that the bus bodies were renovated at Chennai.
This move comes amid complaints from Chennai residents that the frequency of small bus services were reduced along prominent routes such as S90 (Tambaram-Gundumedu) and S85 (Alandur Metro Station-Velachery) in Chennai.
In response, Anbu said, “We have spare buses and permits. We will use them on routes along which the four buses were operated in Chennai.”
These buses have permits only to be operated on a specified routes in the Chennai metropolitan area and can't be operated in Salem without changing the permit conditions. Anbu said the vehicle ownership had been transferred to TNSTC, Salem. However, transport department records accessed on Wednesday, showed that MTC's MD was still the ‘owner’ of the buses. There was no clarity on whether TNSTC, Salem, has updated the permit conditions to operate the buses in and around Salem. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had earlier pulled up MTC for similar permit violations for which the penalty amounted to ₹187 crore.
(With inputs from V Senthil Kumaran - Salem)
One of the four small buses that were given a makeover leaving the MTC depot at Chromepet (L) and it’s all decked up at the Salem bus stand on Wednesday
Passengers Complain Services Cut
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai:18.01.2019
Amid reports that small bus services in Chennai are being cut down, four such vehicles from the city have been renovated and sent to Salem, the district chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami hails from.
The CM on Wednesday flagged off government buses on new routes in and around Salem, according to an official release. Among them are four small buses.
All four were owned by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Chennai, and plied on Chennai roads since 2016, say transport department records. On January 10, these four old buses were given a facelift at the MTC depot at Chrompet, Chennai. MTC sources said damaged seats were repaired and worn out parts replaced. New Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Salem, stickers were pasted on the repainted buses, sources said.
One of the four buses (registration number TN 01 AN 1398) was taken to the MTC's headquarters (Pallavan House) for approval before being taken to Salem the same night. TOI has documents and photographs. The next day, six drivers, working with TNSTC Salem, arrived in Chennai to drive the other three vehicles (TN 01 AN 1245, TN 01 AN 1311 and TN 01AN 1379) to Salem.
When TOI contacted TNSTC Salem authorities on January 13, they said there was no proposal to introduce small buses in Salem. All the four buses were parked elsewhere and not at the main depot next to Salem bus stand where new buses are usually kept. On Wednesday, the buses were brought in hours before the launch.
V Aravinth, managing director of TNSTC, Salem said, “Of the four buses, two would be operated in and around Yercaud, a popular tourist destination in western Tamil Nadu. The others will be operated near Gundur, Aathur.” When asked about the history of the buses, he said these were new bus routes and admitted that the bus bodies were renovated at Chennai.
This move comes amid complaints from Chennai residents that the frequency of small bus services were reduced along prominent routes such as S90 (Tambaram-Gundumedu) and S85 (Alandur Metro Station-Velachery) in Chennai.
In response, Anbu said, “We have spare buses and permits. We will use them on routes along which the four buses were operated in Chennai.”
These buses have permits only to be operated on a specified routes in the Chennai metropolitan area and can't be operated in Salem without changing the permit conditions. Anbu said the vehicle ownership had been transferred to TNSTC, Salem. However, transport department records accessed on Wednesday, showed that MTC's MD was still the ‘owner’ of the buses. There was no clarity on whether TNSTC, Salem, has updated the permit conditions to operate the buses in and around Salem. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had earlier pulled up MTC for similar permit violations for which the penalty amounted to ₹187 crore.
(With inputs from V Senthil Kumaran - Salem)
One of the four small buses that were given a makeover leaving the MTC depot at Chromepet (L) and it’s all decked up at the Salem bus stand on Wednesday
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