Will simplify travel pass process for differently-abled persons, says MTC

CHENNAI: Applying for online travel concessional passes has become a hardship for differently-abled persons as the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) asks for multiple documents to be uploaded and furnish details on specific bus routes.

MTC offers travel concessional passes to the visually impaired and differently-abled/mentally challenged passengers. The visually impaired persons will be issued an MTC bus pass with no restriction on travel distance and number of trips per month. The differently-abled/ mentally challenged persons will be allowed to travel point-to-point from residence to hospital/educational institutions/workplace within a maximum distance of 30 Km. One attendant is allowed to travel with a mentally retarded person.

Activist V Gopalakrishnan who applied for a visually impaired person travel pass for another person, said that when he applied online, it asked to fill up the preferred bus route number for the daily commute after selecting the type of disability.

“Unlike the concessional pass issued to the differently abled persons, the visually impaired persons were allowed travel without restriction on the MTC buses. Why are they asking for a bus route number? Is there any change in the policy,” questioned the activist.

MTC managing director Alby John Varghese said that they had a meeting with the Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled. “Based on their complaints, we have decided to modify the online facility to seek minimal documents from the differently abled persons and not to seek bus routes,” he said.