78 killed in MTC bus accidents in Chennai in 2024: RTI

CHENNAI: As many as 78 persons died in 1,306 accidents involving MTC buses in the city and suburbs last year, according to the Right to Information data.

In reply to an RTI petition filed by activist K Anbazhagan, MTC said its buses were involved in 1,306 accidents from January 1 to December 20 last year. Of the total accidents, the buses belonging to the Central Depot have recorded the highest number of 94 accidents, followed by 74 accidents in Vadapalani and 66 in Adyar.

As per the RTI data, the MTC witnessed 78 fatal accidents in the period against 117 fatalities recorded from January 2022 to November 2023.

Activist K Anbazhagan, general secretary of Tamil Nadu Arasu Pokkuvarathu Kazhaga Stop Corruption Thozhirsanga Peravai, said among the 78 drivers involved in the fatalities, eight were contract drivers.

“If an MTC driver is involved in a fatal accident, the driver would face punishment like an increment cut. What will they do for the contract drivers?” he asked.

"Another reason for the rise in accidents is the MTC not updating the running time of its buses for decades. The increase in the vehicular population, traffic congestion and metro rail works should be taken into consideration for fixing the bus running time,” he said.

MTC MD Alby John Varghese, however, said they had updated the running time of buses on 500 routes last year alone. Also, the bus running time has nothing to do with the accidents.

On the contract drivers involved in the accidents, he said such drivers would be terminated immediately.