Chennai: Popular bus routes go missing

Chennai: Gone are the days when routes designed by Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) had good patronage in the city.

However, many routes in the city have vanished.  Decades ago, MTC had over 700 routes and operated buses in various parts of the city. Many such routes fetched good revenue. Over the years, MTC gradually reduced routes, considering poor revenue. Sources said that the poor planning by MTC officials led to withdrawal of main routes.

 A retired staff of MTC recounted that a few route number buses once covered all government hospitals and it added a shot in the arm for patients. Even more buses were operated tocity's tourist spots. “For instance, route number 28A bus will start from Tiruvottiyur and pass through government cholera hospital in Tondiarpet, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in the Central, government eye and children hospitals in Egmore, government tuberculosis hospital in Chetpet and ESI hospital in KK Nagar,”he recalled.

Such route buses were like 108 ambulances. But those routes were withdrawn later, since the officials shifted routes for more collection.

M. Shanmugam, general secretary of Labour Progressive Federation (LPF), pointed his finger at MTC. “MTC had recorded more collections in many routes 10 years back. However, officials changed the routes frequently without planning for speedy collection and such plans did not work, leading them to scrap some main routes,” he said, adding that those plans made by the then officials to change routes had still cascading effect leading MTC to face loss of revenue.

 When contacted by Deccan Chronicle, a senior MTC official maintained that MTC was such a big corporation. “MTC has been operating over 3,500 buses per day. So, we face some issues relating to revenue and patronage. Further, we are in the process of conducting study regarding route maps and all such issues will soon be sorted out,”the official said.

 When asked about withdrawn routes, “we will conduct feasibility study on these routes,” he tersely replied.