CHENNAI: More than 5,000 bus commuters of the city from different walks of life, got together recently to put forth a common demand for the operation of more ordinary buses in the city at a low fare. Their joint demand was presented to the transport minister early August by the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), a 37-year-old national-level consumer protection organisation.The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), which also regulates the road public transport system in the city, currently plies different series of buses, including the ordinary, LSS, Express, Deluxe and Air-conditioned bus services. The bus fares also vary for each of these services.“The average bus commuter is unable to distinguish between the different types of buses, whose fares vary. So, the commuters have jointly demanded that the MTC restricts its bus offering to three standard classes: ordinary, LSS or Limited Stop Service, and Air-conditioned buses,” explained MK Balasubramanian, Chennai coordinator of ABGP, who presented the memorandum signed by the commuters to the state Transport Minister Senthil Balaji on August 2. Nearly 58 lakh commuters are said to travel by MTC buses everyday.An important demand stated in the memorandum is that 50 per cent of the city’s total buses should be of the ordinary class. This is to make the public transport system affordable to all bus commuters. The existing government rule requires only 40 per cent of the total buses to be ordinary services.Currently, according to information provided by a senior MTC official, nearly 44 per cent of the total buses used in the city are of ordinary and M-services kind. While the ordinary class is the least expensive, starting from `2 to `7, the fares at the M-series buses vary between `3 and `7. The M-series buses were introduced to reduce travelling time by having relatively fewer stop-overs than the ordinary class.Out of 3,140 buses operating in the city, 1,405 buses are of the ordinary and M-services type. While 967 buses are deluxe buses, 100 of them are AC. Express and LSS bus numbers 382 and 286 respectively.A request has also been placed to introduce proper sanitation and water amenities in the city’s bus terminuses. “These bus terminuses are also serving as transit points for people who wish to travel in more than one bus, as they get off at the terminus from one bus and board the other . But there are no toilet facilities in most of them, and even few shops offer water bottles and sachets near the terminus at a rate higher than the MRP,” pointed out Lalitha, a bus commuter. There are more than 30 bus terminuses within the city limits alone, said an MTC official. The bus travellers are demanding that drinking water and toilets be provided for their use in bus terminuses.
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