Modern bus shelter at Saidapet opens for public

Modern bus shelter at Saidapet opens for public

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.04.2021

Now, commuters walking out of the Saidapet metro station can cool off at a modern bus shelter before they hop on a south-bound MTC bus. Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has completed construction of the bus shelter linking one end of it with the entry point of Saidapet metro station to provide commuters with easy access to both the metro and MTC bus services. The bus shelter has replaced the old one, which was partially demolished in 2012 to make way for the construction of the underground metro station.

A metro rail official said besides the bus shelter, an exclusive pathway has also been built to prevent crowding in the area. Other facilities at the bus shelter include circular LED lights, steel benches and display units for bus timings. “We have extended the bus shelter up to one of the entry points of the metro station for commuters to easily walk in from the station to the bus stand,” the official said. “We have also installed a roof to cover the exclusive pathway behind the bus stop,” the official said.

Like the bus stop at DMS, all MTC buses heading towards the southern part of the city must stop at the Saidapet bus stand. Buses proceeding towards East Coast Road, Guduvancherry, Mahabalipuram, Thiruporur, Poonamallee, Kundrathur, Sunguvarchatram and Vellore either stop or originate from the Saidapet bus stand.

CMRL had started reconstruction of the bus shelter more than two years ago, but the work slowed down due to the pandemic induced lockdown in 2020. “We used to walk at least 100 to 200 metres from the station to board an MTC bus earlier,” said K Vijay, a regular metro rail user, adding, "It's more convenient now."

Not all metro stations in the city are directly linked to MTC bus stops as promised, however. Stations like Nanganallur Road, Ekkattuthangal, Vadapalani, Nehru Park and Shenoy Nagar either have no bus stops nearby or are far away, forcing passengers to walk long distances or look for private transportation like cabs and autorickshaws.

COOL SHELTER: The modern bus shelter at Saidapet also has an exclusive pathway to prevent crowding in the area