MTC union blames aged vehicles for water seepage

CHENNAI: With the video of rainwater leaking through the city bus going viral on social media, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus crew blames the operation of old buses for the leaking roof.

The MTC operates 3,448 buses across the city and suburbs catering to about 30 lakh passengers a day. The average age of a MTC bus is 8.55 years as against 6.58 years in 2019-20, thanks non-procurement of new vehicles. This leads to rainwater seeping through the floor of the buses and leaking from the roofs.

A bus driver said, “Mats on the roofs of the buses should be of good quality. And sticky tape should be pasted along the roof to prevent rainwater seeping in. The leaky roof is yet another example of how MTC is running buses in poor condition.”

V Dhayanantham, general secretary, CITU-affiliated Government Transport Employees Union, said that such issues crop up due to the operation of aged buses.

“Last year, the State government increased the lifespan of buses operated by the State Transport Undertakings. Earlier, a mofussil or town bus would be disposed off after completing six years or seven lakh kilometres in service. Now, it has been increased to nine years or 12 lakh km,” he said.

Dhayanantham added that increasing the life span of buses would also result in higher maintenance costs.

“Considering the financial condition of the transport corporations, the government which allocates fund for the road repair and SWDs ahead of monsoon should also allocate a sum for the bus fleet maintenance as it is a public carrier,” he pointed out.