‘Magic’ share autos withdraw from long distance routes

As part of this change, the vans that were being operated from Sanatorium railway station to Mahalakshmi Nagar, Pallavaram railway station to Pozhichalur Main Road and Anna Nagar East to Mogappair have decided to stop the service.

“The vans were relatively comfortable. While regular share autos pack the vehicles with commuters, these vehicles had certain restrictions in terms of number of passengers – up to 10-12 per trip,” said S Nandhini, a regular commuter.

“Along this route, the normal yellow share autos are being operated now. The drivers accommodate much more passengers exceeding its capacity, which raises concern about the safety and causes a huge convenience, especially for women,” said Ravi, secretary of the Sarvamangalam Residents’ Welfare Association.

The public are forced to depend on share autos due to the limited number of services run by small buses in this neighborhood, Ravi added.

Chennai Metropolitan Motor Workers Union general secretary B Anbazhagan said those operating Magic vans were forced to stop plying along a few routes across the city after it stopped being feasible for them due to high fuel prices and revised vehicle insurance.

“Many regular share autos have started operating along the long-distance trips in the recent days replacing the Magic vans,” he said.

Earlier these operators had defined boundaries to avoid any conflicts among them. The normal autos moving in is a departure from the previous trend” Anbazhagan added.

Currently, there are around 4,800 Magic vans and 3,500 share autos being operated in the city every day.