Transport Commissioner warns omni bus operators against picking, dropping passengers in garages

CHENNAI: Transport Commissioner on Tuesday warned action under the Motor Vehicle Act if the Omni Bus operators misinterpret the interim order passed by the Madras High Court to pick up and drop passengers from their garages in the city.

An official release issued by the commissioner said that on the petition filed by some omni bus operators against operations of south-bound buses from the newly opened Kilambakkam bus terminus, the court has passed an interim order on February 1 allowing the operators to pick up and drop off the passengers from Surapet and Porur toll plazas on Chennai Bypass.

"It has been brought to our notice that some omni-bus operators are misinterpreting the reference on allowing the buses to reach the garages in the city as the court allowed them to board and de-board the passengers from garages itself. "The court has not passed any order to allow pick up and drop off passengers from the garages, " he said, warning actions under the MVA and facing contempt of court action for such misinterpretations.

"MHC also asked the omni bus operators not to designate any places other than Porur and Surapattu Toll Plaza as the pick-up and dropping points in any of the online bus reservation sites or the mobile apps, " he said, directing the operators to avoid picking up or dropping the passengers from their garages.

"It is stated that violating the same will cause unnecessary inconvenience to the passengers and such action will call into question the purpose of bringing the Kilambakkam terminus into use. And workshops can never be used as passenger pick-up points or bus stations, " he noted.

Sekarbabu stated that the current government had invested Rs 100 crore on different activities to expand the terminus, pointing out that the KCBT covered 86 acres as opposed to the 33 acres of the CMBT.

The Minister claimed that omnibus operations were moved from Parrys to Koyambedu in 2009, seven years after the CMBT was put into service in 2002. He further stated that omnibus activities were moved to Kilambakkam in forty-five days following the KCBT’s December 30 commissioning.

The minister listed the various amenities created in the KCBT, citing the development of a skywalk at a cost of Rs 60 crore, the construction of a railway station at Kilambakkam for Rs 20 crore, and the installation of clinics, restaurants, driver facilities, shops, parks, and storm water drains laid for 1,700 metres to prevent flooding. The minister further stated that the bus terminus was fully operational and that the opposition’s repeated criticism of the KCBT was due to the bus terminus being named after former chief ministerM Karunanidhi.

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami intervened and said that he had only pointed to the minor issues at the terminus and they were only flagging the passengers’ issues reported by the media. He also added that the people would not have faced the issues if it were operationalised after completing the works. When Sekarbabu faulted the previous EPS regime for only completing 30 per cent works till March 2021, the LoP attributed it to the COVID crisis.

What the HC order said: Even while the buses were being operated from Koyambedu, it is learnt that the Garages established at the private lands of the respective travel agencies in and around the bus stand were serving to the public convenience. So, that can be allowed to be continued until things get settled.