CHENNAI : A month after shifting Andhra Pradesh bound buses to the newly developed Madhavaram Mofussil bus terminus (MMBT), the Transport department has shifted buses operating to Puducherry, Cuddalore and Chidambaram from Koyambedu bus terminus to K K Nagar MTC depot. The move aimed at decongesting the Dr MGR bus terminus in Koyambedu and Inner Ring road, is expected to bring down travel time by 30 minutes.
According to official sources, 167 buses run by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Villupuram) and 20 buses of Puducherry Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) have been shifted to K K Nagar MTC depot, two weeks ago. “During peak hours, vehicles get piled up from Koyambedu till Ashok Nagar, as a result of which, it takes about 50 to 60 minutes to cover the 6 km-distance from K Nagar to Koyambedu bus terminus. Now the travel time will come by 30 minutes,” said a senior official from TNSTC Villupuram.
The decision was also attributed to the frequent accidents at Ashok pillar junction by official sources.
“The slow movement of buses during peak hours increases the drivers’ stress levels and frequently leads to accidents. The drivers who lose time, are forced to over-speed. Now the accidents will also come down,” added the official.
With these measures, over 20 percent of buses have been taken off from Koyambedu bus terminus, which has resulted in free flow of vehicles from the terminus exits. Until October 10, Koyambedu terminus handled about 2278 buses from eight transport corporations of Tamil Nadu and other state depots. While 264 buses of TNSTC shifted to MMBT, 167 buses plying on ECR have been moved to K K Nagar.
Incidentally, the decision to shift the buses did not receive much opposition from the commuters. It is stated that only five percent of the commuters board the buses at Koyambedu, while the rest of bus seats are occupied by commuters at bus stops en route.
K Ganesan of Anna Nagar who boarded the Pondicherry bus on Tuesday, said,”The K K Nagar bus terminus is well connected from Koyambedu since all MTC buses plying from Koyambedu to Adyar, Guindy, Thiruvanmiyur and Tambaram run via Inner Ring road. The travel time is also reduced. However, on the return journey, the buses from Puducherry are getting terminated at Ashok Nagar bus stop and are not operated till K K Nagar,” he added.
Decongestion
167 TNSTC buses and 20 PRTC buses operated to Cuddalore, Puducherry and Chidambaram, shifted to K K Nagar MTC depot
It takes one hour to cover the six km distance between Ashok Pillar and Koyambedu
A month ago, 264 AP bound buses of TNSTC shifted to MMBT
Total number of buses handled at Koyambedu terminus has come down from 2278 to 1844
Vehicle pile up and accidents have reduced
Metro train commuters can board the buses at Ashok Nagar metro station