Sleepless in Chennai

Chennai: For anyone who gets stuck in a bus stop at midnight, a share auto would be the obvious option, when he or she comes to know that the next night service bus is 45 minutes away.

Queuing up with colourful flickering head lights and echoing radios, the share autos approach every individual at the bus stops and attract them inside, charging a few bucks, and people feel more comfortable getting in than waiting long hours for the MTC buses.

“I hardly see night service buses, and once I walked from K. K. Nagar to Mylapore as there was no bus leaving the depot after 10:30 pm,” said S. Gopi, an employee in a private firm. “I wish  government introduces more night service buses from K. K. Nagar,” he adds.

Around 64 night service buses are operated in the city, and represented by blackboards. But this number does not seem to cater to the real need of people. Anant Paswan, a BPO employee, says, “Night services are good. My company alone uses almost 30 cabs to get its employees to their homes. But if there are safe and frequent MTC services, people would opt for these rather than for cabs.”

“Share autos are the most preferred by people as they find it comfortable and cheap,” said N. Raja, a share auto driver who drives along the Virugambakkam Mylapore stretch. “For the entire stretch we charge Rs 35 and for short distances Rs 7,” he adds. Raja expresses his concern over his business as the introduction of mini buses has hit share auto divers on some routes. The rent he has to pay every day for the auto adds to his woes. “I need to pay Rs 600 every day to the owner which is quite stressful,” Raja says.

“We get into shortcuts and reach the destination faster which the buses fail to do at peak hours. Still our business is not encouraging,” says Ezhumalai, another auto driver.
A senior MTC official said that there were no plans for increasing the number of night service buses.

Next: Drunk men pose problem to crew, passengers

Drunk men pose problem to crew, passengers

Chennai: The MTC prides itself on its night service, an essential part of the public transport system, but of late, drunk passengers seem to be posing problem to both commuters and the crew.

Though the MTC has reportedly made a proposal of posting security guards in depots, the situation inside buses are not being considered. C Mariappan, a conductor on the bus to Velachery,  says,

“It is the only problem that we face in the trips. They come in and doze off and then we have to wake them up and ask them were they have to go.” He adds, “They sit and at times, refuse to pay as the fare is double the normal. At times they sleep off and we have to keep track of as to which stop they have to get down. Then we wake them up and send them off.”

Night services ply between 11:30 pm and 5:30 in the morning. Another conductor in Broadway says, “Yes, they are a menace but we have to take them anyway. Police are not everywhere so we have to contend with handling things on our own. I hope that some rule is made to not allow them in buses. Women also are frequent travellers in the service.”
MTC officials were unavailable for com-
ment.

Next: Wave your hand to stop a night bus

Wave your hand to stop a night bus

Jackson Jose | DC

Chennai: As the night settled further into the early hours of the day, the bus came to a screeching halt when I waved my hand. Bus conductor Iyyappan said, “During the night service, hand signals are what we look out for as most bus stops are deserted and people begin to walk home instead of waiting at the bus stops.” It is half past one and I am on the way to CMBT to experience the night service that the MTC runs for the night crowd. 

Iyappan has a tight mu­ff­ler around him and looks suspiciously at people who get in. He says, “Drunkards are a problem at night. They refuse to pay and sleep off. 
The fare is twice the usual but fair enough when compared to the share autos.

The city sleeps soundly as the only noise that permeates the air is that of the engine, only broken momentarily by the barks of dogs who find a fancy in running behind turning wheels. Occasionally jeeps zoom by with half asleep BPO employees with the driver testing his driving skills with no one to complain. “Most of them are pa­ssengers are on the way to CMBT, the rest are IT employees,” says Iyap­pan.

“I actually love this hour of the day. There is no traffic and the driving is peaceful,” adds driver Shiva Kumar as he maneuvres a sharp curve.  The homeless line the pavements of the Velach­ery main roads and suddenly you realize what became of the talk of Co­r­poration night shelters. Auto drivers sit around in groups and chaiwalas sell tea on cycles with hot tea, biscuits and a packet of dum. 

There is short spell of shower as the bus nears the racecourse. This seems to be the part of the day when you can actually see the horses at the race course with their necks jutting out of the stable. By the time the bus snakes through the Kathipara flyover, it is two in the morning. 

Sudhakar, an IT employee, says, “My shift gets over by 1 am and the bus seems fine and less expensive than cabs.” Th­r­oughout the journey, th­ere are a bare minimum of ten people in the bus and it is quite a luxury with two seats to oneself and a window view too.

Construction works gain momentum with the night. A boy with a soiled face directs the traffic with a signal light baton lighted in crimson red as the road gets closed for maintenance works and the bus turns.

Of the night crowd, city police make their presence felt at junctions with barricades and flashing signals atop patrol cars. A pair of sex workers seeking customers makes a run for the nearest shelter as sirens from the police van near. The bus enters CMBT where the lull of the night prevails. It is two and I stay for the sun to rise.