Metro rail and flyover works force a commuter to travel 15 minutes more on the bus
MTC buses stuck in a traffic jam in Chennai.
Chennai: If you have felt that the regular MTC bus journey has been taking longer than usual these days, you are right. Almost every bus passenger in the city has been spending extra 15 minutes per trip, if not on all routes, at least those cutting through eight arterial city pockets.And for once, it’s not the bus crew, but road diversions that is consuming every Chennaiite’s time. Regular bus trip observations have revealed that every bus operated via Mint, Vallalar Nagar, Porur, Alandur, Saidapet and the whole stretch of Anna Salai and EVR Periyar Salai are getting delayed by up to 50 minutes per shift owing to road diversion alone.
While road diversions in Porur and Moolakadai are due to flyover constructions, detours in the rest of the aforesaid places are due to the ongoing Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) project. The operations wing of CMRL has identified that 2,700 trips in the city are affected by road diversions, consuming up to 15 extra minutes per trip. Diversion of some Saidapet bound buses via Chamiers Road to reach Nandanam during peak hours and one-way traffic near Spencer on Anna Salai and from Kilpauk to Egmore on EVR Periyar Salai is a case to point. The diversions have forced MTC to introduce new stoppages and replace a few existing ones.
Denying any reduction in number of stops, a senior MTC officer, requesting anonymity, said that but for a couple of bus stops, the rest have been retained. Some stops have been moved a few hundred meters away. For instance, Teynampet bound buses from Anna Square stop near Satyamurthy Bhavan and Sathyam Theater instead of TVS.
“We cannot by-pass any area because of road diversions. We may take a roundabout route, which might increase the operational cost and journey time a bit, but we still cover all the areas on the route map. Saidapet bound buses may take a detour via Chamiers Road, but they rejoin Anna Salai at Thevar Stature, ahead of Nandanam bus stop,” the officer explained.
Interactions with bus crews operating on the routes revealed that they had more complaints about the diversions than even the passengers. “We have to face angry passengers yelling at us for delays. Honking commuters curse us for blocking the way. Finally, punctuality pressure…though officers are aware of the traffic and diversions, we are regularly pulled up at the depot for the delay,” drivers and conductors operating on the routes complained.
Even conservative estimates suggest that the diversions are here to stay at least for another year and a half. Initially, CMRL set 2015 end as the deadline for the underground network (runs below Anna Salai and EVR Periyar Salai), which will likely get delayed considering that the elevated corridor has already missed the deadline by a few months.
As regards the flyover works, the less said the better.
Spare buses from diversions: Expert
Technical director of institute for transportation and development policy (ITBP) Shreya Gadapallai said, “Diversions are not good. People do not know where to board or alight. It only discourages people from using public transport. It defeats the purpose of decongesting roads.”
Pointing out that 26% of all trips in the city are by buses, which account for around 40% of the city’s motorized transport, Shreya said that even when diversions are inevitable buses should be spared and allowed to ply on the same routes. Diversion of bikes and cars will also decongest the roads and encourage people to take public transport.
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