MTC requests office-goers to start early from home to avoid crowd

MTC requests office-goers to start early from home to avoid crowd

Maintaining Social Distancing, Controlling Commuters Tough In Peak Hours

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:29.04.2021 

Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), Chennai has requested people, who travel to work places regularly in government buses, to start from their homes at least 30 minutes ahead of their routine schedule.

Without public support, MTC officials say it is becoming increasingly difficult to control the crowd and maintain social distancing norms during peak hour commutes.

Even if the entire bus fleet is put into operation, only 1.3 lakh people can be transported now due to Covid-19 travel restrictions in city buses. The new norms restrict standing passengers in MTC buses but official data suggests that during morning peak hours over 4 lakh people use MTC buses.

“Almost 75% among the commuters are people going to office. Almost 1,000 people get down from a suburban train in Tambaram station in one go to board MTC buses to their offices between 8 am and 9 am. The next hour or an hour prior to this, MTC buses run half-empty. So even if 30% to 40% of our regular bus users start early by 30 minutes, we will be able to avoid crowds in buses," said a senior MTC official.

In response, S Dinesh, a regular MTC user from Perungudi said, “What will we do by reaching our office so early? Even the doors will not be open for us to sit and wait for others to join us. MTC has to operate more buses to avoid such problems”.

The MTC official replied saying that there was no point in plying more buses. Diverting Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) mofussil buses, which are usually used for inter-district commute, into city routes is logistically not a good idea. After using them for one trip, they would be parked idle for the rest of the day. But MTC has to pay the bus crew for one full day, he said.

All eight transport corporations including MTC are also currently facing huge losses (roughly ₹13 crore per day), says data.

Given the ban on night buses, people from other TN districts, who come to Chennai for business reasons and medical treatment, are having a tough time reaching the railway stations.

Y Kaveen, who left for Madurai from Egmore station, said that cab drivers don't confirm bookings after 9 pm as they have to reach home before 10 pm deadline. So he paid ₹400 to reach the station from Choolaimedu.

During these trying times, autos and share autos are not only fleecing passengers but are also violating travel norms by transporting up to eight passengers in one trip where the norm allows only one or two passengers at the max per ride. The state transport department continues to be a mute spectator to these violations.