Same route buses run bumper to bumper

They also have to wait for a long time before the next bus starts. Therefore, commuters feel officials should operate same route buses intermittently, as operating them one after the other simultaneously, paves the way for heavy crowds in one, while the second one runs empty. 

According to passengers, the problem has been prevailing for long but officials have failed to opt for course-correction. MTC operates over 3,500 buses in the city and suburbs and the number of passengers availing of MTC buses is on the rise. And yet, many buses with same numbers enter the roads one after another. 

This causes confusion among drivers, with the driver of the first bus assuming the one following behind would stop to allow passenger to board. Often, this does not happen. “I have experienced it first-hand. I usually wait for bus number 37G, starting from Iyyappanthangal to Vallalar Nagar, at the depot. When one bus starts moving, the remaining 

ones also follow. I often miss both the buses. I end up waiting for another 30 minutes to catch the next bus,” said R Shanmugam, a regular on this bus route. He added that there was no indication as to which bus would move first and sometimes even the last bus in the line would move first and passengers sitting in the buses in front would have to rush to out and board the moving vehicle. 

V Ragavan, another passenger from Thiruvottiyor said “I take bus routes 28 and 28B. When I board the first bus, it will gradually fill up, but suddenly all of us watch as the bus behind will move out, and 

it will be running empty,”. Officials turn a blind eye to what is clearly bad planning, said passengers. 

Bus drivers say they are merely following official orders. An MTC  branch manager admitted “such issues sometime happen”. However, he attributed the issue to the traffic congestion and maintained that timekeepers in every depot were instructing the bus crew. 

When DTNext contacted V Krishnamurthy, Managing Director, MTC, he maintained that branch officials and bus crew have been warned on this issue. “However, we will a conduct review meeting with all the branch officials soon to put an end to this issue,” he stressed.