Only half of MTC’s minibuses from Avadi operational, passengers hit hard

CHENNAI: Passengers of small buses operated by the MTC from Avadi to Thiruverkadu, Poonamallee, and Mittanamalli are hit hard as only 50 per cent of the scheduled services are operating.

MTC operates S50 (Avadi to Poonamallee), S47 (Avadi to Mittanamalli) and S52 (Avadi to Thiruverkadu) services with four small buses on each route. However, only two buses are running on each route at present and the rest is kept in depot without paying taxes.

An MTC driver at Avadi depot said the employees of the buses lost their work due to this.

With the delay in construction of the road over bridge in the last five years, the normal bus services were reduced to a large extent forcing the passengers to depend on the small bus services and share autorickshaw, said T Sadagopan, president of Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre and a resident of Pattabiram.

The S47, which runs between Avadi and Mittanamalli, enjoys good patronage with patients including pregnant women visiting the primary health centres at Mittanamalli, he said, adding there is huge demand for the small buses in the Western suburbs of Avadi but the MTC is reducing the bus services. He said the bus service to Thiruverkadu was already less and it has been further reduced. He demanded the MTC to operate more small bus services in and around Avadi corporation.

Thalapathy, general secretary, Netaji Transport Workers Union, alleged that MTC has not been operating its full fleet of the small buses at Avadi depot owing to non-availability of spares for maintenance works and shortages of tyres. “Since the small bus is remaining idle, they are not paying taxes,” he alleged.

Out of the 207 small buses in the city, 146 buses including 56 buses operating as feeder services to the Chennai Metro Rail, a senior MTC official said.