Residents want Adyar bus terminus to be converted into parking lot

Located in the heart of the city, Adyar bus terminus on Sardar Patel Road is serving no purpose to the public, as the facility is not used by many to board buses, claimed residents here.

“We have been requesting authorities to convert the space into a parking lot for a couple of years as the facility serves no purpose to the residents of the locality. Commuters board the bus from in front of the facility instead of boarding them within the terminus,” P Namachivayam, an office-bearer of the Federation of Adyar Residents Welfare Association, said.

“Passengers board buses in a hurry here. The bus bays are frequented by share autos. Thus, buses halt in the middle of the road, forcing commuters to run and board the bus. As there are not many depending on MTC buses in the locality, the corporation had reduced the number of buses operating from this facility,” a commuter said.

A total of 135 scheduled services with a fleet strength of 146 buses are being operated from this facility every day. The facility received more 25 new buses and routes recently. Various bus routes are being operated from here, including services to Tiruvanmiyur, Old Mahabalipuram Road, East Coast Road, Guindy, Tambaram and East Tambaram.

When asked about the usually locked feeding rooms at the facility, a staff said, “We rarely get any request from the public to use the feeding room. We open the room only when required. Otherwise, it remains closed for most parts of the day. We get at least one request per week.”

There are no proper seating arrangements, toilets are badly maintained and the ground is unlevelled. However, commuters are in no mood to complain as they rarely venture into the premises to board buses.

Inside the facility, there is no drinking water provision for commuters or staff. The other features that are absent at the facility are digital time board and public announcement system. The practice of boarding buses from inside the facility was discontinued a decade ago.

“This facility was established to decongest traffic on the road. We will consider the public demand and improve the quality of the terminus soon,” an official attached to the MTC said.