Commuters made to suffer as bus drivers skip Erikarai stop

CHENNAI: The bus commuters are put to suffer since the Erikarai bus stop in Peerkankaranai is located very close to the exit of the flyover and so the MTC bus drivers are avoiding the bus stop completely.

The Erikarai bus stop is located between Perungalathur and Tambaram and all the whiteboard buses used to stop at the stop.

The residents of Vel Nagar, Devanesa Nagar, Roja Nagar, Mullai Nagar, Lakshmipuram, and Srinivasa Nagar use the bus stop regularly and most of the school and college students also board the bus from there.

Now after the inauguration of the Perungalathur flyover the bus stop was shifted to near the entrance of the Maduravoyal bypass road.

After that, all the whiteboard buses are skipping the bus stop completely and even though the passengers seek stoppage the conductors and drivers skip the stop and request the commuters to come come in another bus.

Revathi of Devanesa Nagar said, now since the buses are not stopping here we need to walk about one kilometre and board the bus at the Perungalathur bus stop.

Even in Perungalathur, the buses are not stopping at the bus stops and the drivers are stopping at a place which is comfortable for them. Many buses are stopping even before the signal.

The commuters said that since the buses are not properly operated they are forced to spend money and travel in a share auto. The women said that after the announcement of free travel for women in whiteboard buses all those buses are hesitating to stop and force the commuters to run behind the bus.

When contacted an official from the transport department he said that they will look into the issue and make sure that all the drivers stop at the stop. Action will be taken if the drivers skip the stop regularly.