CHENNAI: The newly introduced premium bus service by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) saw encouraging response on its first day of operation on Thursday, though commuters flagged delays, lack of live tracking and a few operational glitches.
The service, introduced on a pilot basis with five buses, operates on two routes - P570S (Siruseri IT Park–CMBT) and P91 (Tiruvanmiyur–Kilambakkam), with fares ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 150. Tickets can be booked only through the Chennai One app, and passengers are assured of seating. According to MTC, a total of 802 passengers used the service on the first day, including 542 on the P570S route and 260 on the P91 route.
However, several commuters took to X to report delays in the arrival of buses. One commuter who had booked the 4.19 pm P570S service from Karapakkam said the bus arrived nearly 45 minutes late, forcing them to skip regular buses while waiting for the pre-booked service.
Another passenger said they waited about 45 minutes for a booked bus to Koyambedu, while a commuter waiting for P91 at Chromepet said the bus had not arrived even 15 minutes after the scheduled boarding time. Passengers also pointed out that the Chennai One app currently does not offer live bus tracking, leaving commuters unsure of the bus's location while waiting at stops.
Since tickets are pre-booked and paid for in advance, passengers tend to skip other buses on the same route. In such cases, when timing becomes critical in work-related travel, delays defeat the purpose of the service. Questions about whether refunds would be issued if buses are significantly delayed or fail to arrive were raised.
There were also isolated disruptions. One commuter said a morning P570S trip from CMBT was cancelled due to a technical glitch, while another booked service later in the day did not arrive on time.
Meanwhile, MTC Managing Director T Prabhushankar said the service was introduced as a pilot project and that the first-day response had been encouraging. "We acknowledge the shortfalls and glitches. We are learning and will make the system more seamless and adaptable," he said.
He said the corporation may optimise the number of stops once passenger travel patterns become clearer, which could help improve schedule adherence. MTC is also considering infrared-based scanning and eventually a tap-in, tap-out ticketing system to speed up boarding. The MTC is also assessing actual end-to-end travel time on the routes to build buffer time between trips so delays in one service do not affect subsequent departures, the Managing Director noted.