CHENNAI: Commuters have expressed relief after deluxe buses operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) began halting at the Nest Hotel bus stop on Gandhi Irwin Road near the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, following concerns raised over the skipping of the designated stop.
The issue came to light after DT Next published a report on April 9 (Thursday) highlighting the difficulties faced by daily passengers, including patients and staff of the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children (ICH), Egmore, due to buses not stopping at the location.
Regular commuters had urged the MTC to ensure that deluxe services on routes 27D (Foreshore Estate to Villivakkam) and 23C (Besant Nagar to Villivakkam) halt at the stop, noting that the practice of skipping it disrupted last-mile connectivity and forced passengers to depend on alternative routes.
Kumari, staff nurse, ICH, said, “The situation has improved for the past four days. Drivers have been stopping deluxe buses at the stop instead of skipping it. It has reduced the long walk for hospital staff, patients and others.”
Another commuter, S Manjula, said drivers had earlier ignored passengers even when they signalled. “Now, buses are stopping after noticing us waiting. Earlier, we had to depend on other buses to reach the Dasaprakash bus stop on Raja Annamalai Road in Purasawalkam,” she added.