Chennai: The Metropolitan Transport Corporation is yet to receive 100 small buses announced by later Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the Assembly in 2016.
The delay in procuring such buses has caused mounting inconvenience to the city commuters as small buses playing the main role offers connectivity to main bus stands and metro rail stations from interior areas.
Sources said that even as officials kept promising to float a tender for procuring such small buses at regular interval, not even a single new small bus hit the road so far. As of now, about 200 small buses are operated to various places from interior areas. To ease the inconvenience of passengers, the late CM announced 100 more buses.
"These buses add a shot in the arm for people living in interior areas, as they transport people to bus stands, main roads, metro railway station and other interior places," said P. Viswanathan, coordinator of Chitlapakkam Residents Association. The officials should survey the suburbs where such buses are in dire need, he added.
Daniel Robinson, programme manager of Chennai City Connect, said "the city has different mode of transportations like MTC small and regular buses, suburban and metro trains, cab and auto services. Since many commuters prefer to travel in public transport, it is better to increase the fleets of small buses." When contacted, an MTC official said "the transport department already included in its list to procure 100 small buses.
Accordingly, the transport department prepared a blueprint, in which it decided to 2,100 buses. Of this, a total of 515 mofussil buses already hit the road and 100 small buses will soon be procured,"
He added that they received a flurry of complaints from the public to increase the fleets and they would definitely consider operating more buses.
