Commuters hit as drivers skip Guduvanchery bus terminal

The new bus terminal was constructed with a budget of Rs 2 crore and has nearly 20 bays and 40 shops. But passengers complain that hardly any bus comes inside the terminal forcing them to wait on the road to board the vehicles. 

“Due to this, there are frequent traffic jams on the GST Road and the time taken to reach Chengalpattu and

other destinations has almost doubled,” said Samar, a regular commuter from Guduvanchery.

Passengers also complained that over 20 of the 40 convenience shops are vacant and even the existing shops are not operated properly.

An MTC official at the terminal said the buses often halt on the road to pick up passengers as it takes them more time to enter the terminal and later exit it. “Since most bus drivers are pressed for time, they refrain from entering the bus bays.”

However, locals claimed that with the bus drivers avoiding the terminal, the purpose of the sprawling facitlity fails, besides making it unsafe for public to use the buses. “Also, the bus stop was constructed for the convenience of the public and not for the convenience of MTC drivers. They should adjust their timings and park the vehicles inside the terminal,” said Rajesh, an MTC commuter from Guduvanchery.

R Gunasekaran, Executive Officer, Guduvanchery, said he would soon visit the terminal and take necessary steps to bring the buses inside the terminal.