Starved of feeder service

At a time, when Metro Rail service is expected to play a pivotal role in attracting more commuters to public transport and reducing travel time, feeder services to and from the Metro stations, which would have shortened the commute time, remain merely on paper. 

Only a handful of small buses operate to the already open Metro stations, while the proposal was for a range of services, including auto-rickshaws and battery-operated vehicles. Metro Rail commuters from interior areas and suburbs are demanding that Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), which is already operating around 100 buses for this purpose, operate additional services. 

However, sources alleged that Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials are not taking up the necessary steps for feeder services, although such a facility had been a part of the project since it was envisaged. As of now, only around 100 small buses are being operated by the MTC to reduce the travel time. 

Most of the services are concentrated in the Southern and Western suburbs. Daniel Robinson, Project Manager, Chennai City Connect, who made study on the feeder service says, “Compared to the last two years, MTC is providing better connectivity. 

However, the number of fleets should be increased, as the number of Metro Rail commuters are gradually on the rise.” The study also threw up issue faced by commuters. “Though such buses are reaching near the station, commuters need to walk half or even one km to reach the stations. So, these gaps should be bridged by operating more number of small buses,” he said. 

Meanwhile, small bus drivers said that they are receiving good response among the public. “It is a plain fact that we are earning over Rs 7,000 a day. With the buses going through small lanes, interior and arterial roads and bus terminals, more number of Metro Rail commuters are using the services,” says a driver who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

M Thamilselvan, a Metro Rail commuter, said “I take a mini bus from Virugambakkam to catch a Metro train to CMBT. Though it is good, there needs to be frequent services of mini buses and MTC officials should consider operating exclusive small buses to the Metro stations.” 

The CMRL, had earlier planned to run battery-operated three-and four-wheelers based on a public-private partnership model besides small buses and regular buses stopping near Metro stations. However, such plan is still pipeline. Moreover, the CMRL officials planned to operate auto-rickshaws as feeder service. 

When DTNext asked a senior Metro Rail official on the road map, he said “Everything is under the process and we are also in touch with MTC officials for operating exclusive mini-bus services. But it will take a little more time for the logistics to be worked.” CMRL officials want to bring in a common ticketing system with the MTC, and they were in the process of implementing such a mechanism, said another official.

Suburban residents P Viswanathan, convener, Chitlapakkam Residents Association says, “Suburbs are left out of all projects like the Metro Rail project. It has been a long-standing demand of ours that Metro Rail project be extended to Tambaram. Imagine the plight of someone from the suburbs who wants to travel to Koyambedu. We have to catch either an EMU train or MTC buses. So, the government should consider providing connectivity to Airport from Tambaram with a feeder service. Then we can travel comfortably anywhere in the city.” He added that there were no direct feeder services to any Metro Railway station from the suburbs.