Living standards reflect in reliability, quality of public transport: CM Stalin

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday said a city’s living standards could be seen in the reliability and quality of its public transport.

“In this context, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) was improving the amenities for safe travel and ensuring last mile connectivity,” he indicated.

“Congratulations to @MtcChennai, which has been awarded as the city with the best public transport system in India, and to the honourable @sivasankar1ss, who is taking charge of the department and leading it,” CM said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’.

MTC Chennai was conferred the national award for ‘City with the Best Public Transport System’ at the Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference held in Gurugram, Haryana, recently. The award was presented by Union Minister Manohar Lal to Transport Minister SS Sivasankar, and Managing Director, MTC, T Prabhushankar.

Extensive route network with services on over 660 routes, covering Chennai and its suburban areas, launch of ‘Vidiyal Payanam’ enabling free bus travel for women, along with the dedicated school bus service scheme, under which exclusive buses with on-campus pick-up and drop facilities ensuring safe and reliable transport for school students, were some of the features, a release here said.

“Increased adoption of digital payments through Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs) in all buses, enabling payments via National Common Mobility Card, UPI, and credit/debit cards, introduction of the Chennai One app, enabling a multimodal journey planner and allowing passengers to use a single ticket to travel across MTC buses, and CMRL, and Suburban Rail, were among the other highlights,” it said.