No ordinary bus service at night hurts commuters

Apart from forcing passengers spend extra money, this also defies the government order by which the night services are only allowed to charge double the amount collected by the ordinary buses.

The night services are operated between 10 pm and 5 am along the important routes to cater to commuter demand. The important bus routes include T Nagar, Tambaram, Perungalathur, Vandalur and Broadway.

According to a Government Order (GO), the tariffs for the night services are double the amount of the fare collected by the ordinary buses. As MTC buses operate with a minimum fare of Rs 5 inclusive of tax, the minimum fare for night services should be Rs 10.

But contrary to this, the branch managers of the respective depots, who are permitted to operate six services during the night, allow only deluxe buses to ply instead of ordinary buses.

“Every bus depot operates at least 10 night services. All the vehicles that are operated during the nights are deluxe buses. However, the GO only prescribes the tariff for the ordinary buses,” said Senthil Kumar, a social activist. The minimum tariff charged by the deluxe bus service is Rs 11.

“The ordinary buses are not plied during the night in order to generate extra revenue. The branch managers ensure this to earn an additional revenue. They get an incentive of Rs 15,000 if they show increase in collection, whereas drivers and conductors earn a collection incentive of Rs 120,” said sources.

“We are plying deluxe services during the night. But we are collecting the minimum fare of Rs 11 during night hours. It is a violation only if we collect double the amount as prescribed for ordinary buses,” a senior official said.