While about 25 lakh of Chennai's 60 lakh residents and suburbs rely on MTC buses, the fleet comprises only 3,200 buses.
Published Oct 01, 2024 | 3:00 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 01, 2024 | 3:00 PM
Representative image of crowded bus in Rameshwaram (iStock)
Chennai resident Priya, a software professional working in Guindy, told South First, “Every morning, I dread having to get onto the bus. There’s hardly space to stand, let alone sit. Sometimes, I have to skip two or three buses before I board one that I can barely fit into.”
Diya, another commuter, pointed out that harassment of women occurs more commonly in crowded spaces. “Such horrible crowding is a threat in itself,” she said. In a crowd, even if a man touches you inappropriately, you can barely complain. “Harassment goes unchecked. If you try to raise the issue, you are met with silence or indifference,” she said.
In 2021, the Tamil Nadu government introduced free bus rides for women, physically challenged people, and transgenders. Students and senior citizens already avail subsidised rides on government-run buses.
The scheme that provides free bus rides has been hailed across the country, but it has also resulted in unprecedented crowding of buses. The bus infrastructure has not kept up with the huge spurt in demand, leading to a major transportation crisis.
Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), which operates bus services across Chennai and its suburbs, has long served as the backbone of its public transport. It is estimated that over 25 lakh of Chennai’s 60 lakh residents depend on bus services. The MTC fleet, however, comprises only 3,200 buses.
In a policy note released this year, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar pointed out that buses are the means to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and traffic congestion. Yet, less than one percent of the vehicles on state roads are buses. What is more, Tamil Nadu is the country’s second-largest government bus transport corporation.
There are eight government-owned state transport undertakings in Tamil Nadu, which together operate a fleet of 20,260 buses; 1.76 crore people use these on average, each day.
The minister explained that a committee established by the British government in 1944 to study public transport in the country had recommended the nationalisation of the transport sector. Currently, there are private operators who also serve specific routes that the state allows them to ply in.
The bus transport system offers employment to over one lakh employees and generates daily revenue of ₹37 crore, while daily expenditure is ₹54 crore. Tamil Nadu incurs a daily shortfall of ₹17 crore on its bus network. While public bus systems are not expected to generate profit, the losses cannot let it become unsustainable, especially when it is an essential service. The policy note by the transport minister stated that the bus system in the state had incurred a loan of over ₹18,000 crore, as of March 2024.
A comparison of footfall and profits incurred in Chennai buses before and after 2023.
There are about 19,000 buses in operation across the state. Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is set to replace over half of its current fleet by 2025. The aim is to introduce 7,000 new buses as part of the modernisation plan.
Many of the buses in operation at present are old, with an average age of nine years. They require frequent repairs. A total of 652 new buses were added to the fleet in 2023; the state also plans to introduce 500 electric buses to promote eco-friendly transport.
The large gap between supply and demand for buses is in plain sight – on major bus routes such as Velachery-Tambaram, Porur-Poonamallee, and Avadi-Vadapalani, the overcrowding is apparent even to those visiting the city for the very first time.
When the bus is full to its capacity, there are often commuters who still need to travel – several people travel on the footboard, unable to enter crowded buses. In March this year, four students died at Sirinagalur village, Chengalpattu, about 50 km from Chennai. The students were on the rear footboard of the bus, and when it sideswiped a container lorry parked on the roadside. The teenagers were crushed between the two vehicles.
Rajeshwari, a college student, said it would have made a great difference to her life if the bus rides were more comfortable. In a bus that is not too crowded, she could have used the commute to read, for instance. In Chennai, however, she often travels standing in the bus. “My home is about an hour’s ride away from college. By the time I reach, I am sapped and it is a great effort then to concentrate on the lessons,” she told South First.
Lakshmi, a mother of two teenagers in Velachery, said, “I worry when my children head out for school. The buses are so overcrowded. It’s terrifying when one reads of accidents, and thinks of one’s own children travelling in buses filled beyond capacity.”
Revathi, a working mother from Tambaram, tells South First, “My son rides the bus to college every day. Peak hour traffic is so bad, I feel a little scared for him. There is so little space on city roads, and everybody seem to be in such a hurry.”
Chennai buses are hostile spaces for old people and little children. Ranganayaki, a 68-year-old retired teacher from Poonamallee, told South First that commuting by bus in the city has become hard at her age.
“I try to avoid travelling by bus, but when I need to go to the hospital or run an errand, I may have no other way of commuting. Buses are so crowded, even finding free space on the handle rod above is hard. I’ve seen elderly people fall or get injured while trying to board or alight. It’s frightening.”
Narayan, a resident of Anna Nagar, said that at 72, with arthritis, he still struggles into a bus some days. “Standing for long is unbearable. The pain is terrible, but I have no option except to take the bus sometimes. Even younger people find it hard. Finding a seat is a challenge, and it is not like people these days can afford to be kind to seniors and offer up their seats – when the bus is jam-packed, one cannot expect such niceties.”
Little children would find the huge crowd unbearable too, since at their height they would just be squished between adults, and have no breathing space.
Additional Chief Secretary, Transport, K. Phanindra Reddy said although buses are overcrowded in peak traffic time, there are lean times when there are very few passengers on board. Transport planning considers not the total number of commuters, but the average, he explained.
“There have been instances where buses run with just five passengers,” he told South First, explaining that this is hugely loss-making, considering the capacity of a bus is about 40 passengers. While the transport department runs trips constantly across set routes, overcrowding is seen only in peak traffic time, he said.
As for safety, he mentioned that buses are equipped with buzzers, which passengers can use in case of emergency. These were installed after the horrific Nirbhaya rape and murder case in Delhi in December 2012. However, not one passenger who spoke with South First mentioned this feature.
The policy note by the transport minister mentioned projects undertaken in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the World Bank, to augment such things as passenger information, automatic vehicle location system and provide mobile apps for staff. A pilot of the ₹136 crore JICA project began in April this year.
A ₹959 crore project with the World Bank, with the state government bearing 30 percent of the cost, is aimed at improving the efficiency of the bus system. Electric buses are being introduced under this scheme.
Most state bus transport systems in the country are bleeding money. The bus system in the country has been ignored for about two decades, as governments offered priority to the development of the metro system.
The Central Institute of Road Transport estimated that buses across India carry about seven crore people each day; they remain an important mode of transport, and efficient and safe bus transport offers last mile connectivity – one can walk home from the nearest bus stop, while one may still need to rely on another mode of transport to get home from the metro station.
To reduce pollution and improve the quality of city life, Chennai’s residents must get into a huddle to plan a more efficient bus system.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
